Buying a home with damaged draining

SunnyHome

Hello, I'd really appreciate some advice!

My husband and are are purchasing our first home. We had a survey done which advised us to have a separate drains survey done. 

The second survey uncovered that the septic tank discharges have expired and they believe they are no longer draining away. They believe a new drainage field needs to be installed.They advised for a tanker to drain the site and carry out further CCTV on the rest of the system. They said that no one is living there and the tank is still filling up. But when we drove past we saw signs of the place still being lived in?

When we contacted the solicitors they eventually responded that the system was compliant in 2001 and they won't be carrying out any drainage works. What do we do? Prior to this the seller wanted to complete later this month? What are our options?

We've just gone back to our solicitor to communicate that are the sellers aware that other buyers would be in the same position and have their mortgage lenders back out.

What do we do? I think it goes without saying that we are very far in the process and would really like this house. But we're uncertain whether our mortgage lender would even stick with us (even though we have a large deposit and are low risk).

Thank you in advance 

propertyrental

Who did the drainage survey? I assume a specialist septic tank survey eg

https://www.ukdpsolutions.co.uk/septic-tanks/surveys

(there are others)

But yes, ultimately pumping out the tank and inspecting it, along with inspecting the pipes and drainage field is wise, though involves cost (and seller's permission!).

If the septic tank and/or drainage field has failed then replacement could be expensive, depending on which needs replacing and how big it is.

Alternatively, replacement with a small sewage treatment plant might be as or more economic (no drainage field needed).

Who pays? That's up to negotiation. You could reduce your offer and the seller might or might not agree.......

On the plus side, you won't be paying the water company for waste water removal.

Albermarle

 They said that no one is living there and the tank is still filling up. But when we drove past we saw signs of the place still being lived in?

Are you not aware from the estate agent/solicitors of the current status of the property. Is it 

Empty as seller/tenants have moved out?

Or is the owner/tenants still living there ?

If tenants are still there, that might be as big an issue as the septic tank.

SunnyHome

@propertyrentalpropertyrental said:

But yes, ultimately pumping out the tank and inspecting it, along with inspecting the pipes and drainage field is wise, though involves cost (and seller's permission!).

If the septic tank and/or drainage field has failed then replacement could be expensive, depending on which needs replacing and how big it is.

Alternatively, replacement with a small sewage treatment plant might be as or more economic (no drainage field needed).

Who pays? That's up to negotiation. You could reduce your offer and the seller might or might not agree.......

On the plus side, you won't be paying the water company for waste water removal.

Thank you for this! Out survey was carried out by Drain Division. My husband was under the impression that replacement with a small sewage treatment plant would be more expensive? For them to do that, would the existing septic tank and drainage field need to be dug up and removed? 

propertyrental

My neighbour and I had a failed septic tank and looked at all the options.

Yes, a septic tank on its own is much cheaper than a treatment plant, but a drainage field (needed by a septic tank but not by a treatment plant is expensive (as well as potentially damaging to a garden, lawn or wherever which will need re-landscaping after being dug up).

In our case, the costs were roughly the same but a treatment plant had the advantage of also being much more environmentally friendly and modern.

If you install a TP a lot will depend on the circumstances. If putting it in the same place as the ST then yes, that will need digging up/removing. But that's little different to leaving the ST in situ and digging a new hole for the TP.

The drainage field could just be left untouched. A new pipe out of the TP running off to whatever suitable place there is. That assumes there IS a suitable place.

But the only way to find out is to have a couple of reputable installers out and give you the appropriate options and costs.

Drain Division seem to clear drains + install septic tanks and treatment plants, so they might be a good place to start with searching quesions as they've already been on site.

SunnyHome

propertyrental said:

My neighbour and I had a failed septic tank and looked at all the options.

Yes, a septic tank on its own is much cheaper than a treatment plant, but a drainage field (needed by a septic tank but not by a treatment plant is expensive (as well as potentially damaging to a garden, lawn or wherever which will need re-landscaping after being dug up).

Thank you this helps alleviate the worry somewhat! 

Dustyevsky

It's like any other defect that might turn up when buying. You get professional estimates and advice, and then decide if the cost of rectification, or part of it, should be reflected in the price you're willing to pay. The vendor may/may not agree, but foul drainage is important and a clogged-up drain field isn't something that can be left for long. Whether the system was compliant in 2021 is irrelevant; it's not working as it should in the 'driest' season of 2024.

Your vendor may begin bullishly, but as you surmise, they might well face this problem with others if they decline to negotiate. I'm not saying you would do this, but they'll also be aware a disgruntled purchaser could alert the Environment Agency if the matter becomes a deal-breaker. The EA might not be quite as bad as the Spanish Inquisition, but if contamination is found, they can demand a sale be halted until remedial measures are taken.

GDB2222

Dustyevsky said:

It's like any other defect that might turn up when buying. You get professional estimates and advice, and then decide if the cost of rectification, or part of it, should be reflected in the price you're willing to pay. The vendor may/may not agree, but foul drainage is important and a clogged-up drain field isn't something that can be left for long. Whether the system was compliant in 2021 is irrelevant; it's not working as it should in the 'driest' season of 2024.

Your vendor may begin bullishly, but as you surmise, they might well face this problem with others if they decline to negotiate. I'm not saying you would do this, but they'll also be aware a disgruntled purchaser could alert the Environment Agency if the matter becomes a deal-breaker. The EA might not be quite as bad as the Spanish Inquisition, but if contamination is found, they can demand a sale be halted until remedial measures are taken.

The OP said that the system was working in 2001, not 2021. If 2001 is correct, it is not surprising that things have changed in the meantime. Really, the OP needs to get a quote for rectifying the worst case scenario, given that the seller doesn’t want any further investigation done.