[strider3700]

So some of you know I've sold my current place and I'm house hunting. Today was inspection day at a place both my wife and I like. It needs a bunch of work but we knew that and for the right price it wouldn't be an issue. Lots of land (for around here anyways) and a nice orchard. Anyways today we had a home inspection and the septic inspection setup. Things I was watching for was vermiculite(possible asbestos) in the attic, brutal wiring that I hadn't already found and a bathroom in the basement that seemed to be below the septic tank and had no pump to get everything up to the tank so where did it go?

Anyways after a very long day the house inspection came back fine but the septic inspection not so much. In the end the basement bathroom runs out the side of the house and goes over to a small hill. the meter said the probe stopped roughly 4 feet down. We could have dug it to find out if it was an old septic system but there was no point because - The main septic field where the upstairs bathroom drained wasn't actually a septic field. It was instead just a big hole in the ground filled with rocks with a nice concrete cover on top. As far as I can tell the technical name is a cesspit. It's very illegal these days and the owners should have removed it a few years back. I actually found the health regulation stating how these things are to be dealt with. Not cheap.

So now I'm sitting here trying to decide how to proceed with this house. I'm guessing that correcting the problem is going to be at least a $40,000 job. Your average new septic system around here is in the 15,000-20,000 range due to the new requirements. If the Place doesn't perk well or the contamination is really bad it could go way up from there.

I'm leaning towards option 3 but keeping option 1 as a possibility.

Anyone want to chime in on what they'd do?

[Thralen]

I'd have them knock it off the asking price (get an estimate and use that as the figure requested to be knocked off) for one reason and one reason only. They knew what was there, almost guaranteed, do you trust them to actually get it done right if you aren't involved?

Thralen

[TWilliam]

Get three estimates for work that would be done to your specifications, take the highest plus 20% fudge factor (this kind of stuff almost always ends up costing more than anticipated) as the knock off and require a perk test at their expense prior to any purchase agreement, said agreement to be contingent upon satisfactory results. If they won't play, bid them good day and look elsewhere.

If the deal walks, have the work done by the middle bidder. That way you have a bigger cushion for unanticipated problems while avoiding the low-baller (always a good idea)...

[MD]

Run Away!

Of course they know about it. Cesspits require frequent maintenance (unless the thing is absolutely massive) which means they've had it pumped/cleaned if they've been there for any length of time.

Additionally you have to be wary of groundwater contamination. Is there a well? How far from the pit? Has it been tested?

Unless you are willing to take on what could potentially be a massive and unpredictable project...

Run Away!!!

And the toilet-to-the-ravine trick should've died 100 years ago.

[Schmuto]

Walk away.

There are many known unknowns here. You've stated them.

But there are also many unknown unknowns.

For example, what happens if they start to dig the pit and the state/local agency responsible for remediation runs a test and says, "it turns out that this cesspit is in a _________ ___________ region." You're going to need to do _____________>"

Now your estimates are blown and it's out of your pocket.

I've bought many houses in my life (moved a lot). I know the legal side of the contract matters very well.

The ONLY way I'd touch this house is if you put in the contract that the sellers must fix the issue to the satisfaction of __________ before you are obligated to pay.

We had a house with an in ground oil tank. We added a contingency to the contract that the sellers had to have the tank removed and the finished job had to pass local inspection before we were obligated to buy.

Two more things - 1. put as little money down as possible in the form of a deposit - you want to be able to walk away if things get dicey. 2. You had better know for certain what the blank is, above, if you choose to go the contingency route - that is, in some states I'd guess you need a state EPA sign off on any remediation.

Oh yeah - in ground system on my property - about 4 grand, complete install. Consider moving from wherever you are at - sounds like Suburban Hell to me.

[Schmuto]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('MD', 'R')un Away!

Of course they know about it. Cesspits require frequent maintenance (unless the thing is absolutely massive) which means they've had it pumped/cleaned if they've been there for any length of time.

[TreeFarmer]

I'm thinking that the only way to touch this is to do a contract where THEY get all of the work done to your and the local authorities satisfaction. Then you close the deal.

I would however be willing to put a decent amount down (not a tremendous amount) under a few condtions. Things like:

Your lawyer holds your money
Someone with real experience with these problems and the local sewer authority guy design the fix
The fix passes inspection
Everything else with the property has to pass the various other inspections
Everything is cleared so that the instant you close you can move in with all utilities already on, so no surprises

I'd be careful but if the price is right, and you seem to like the amount of land/other features with the place, you can come out ok.

TF

[RdSnt]

Cesspits are still reasonably common in the country in Canada, particularly out west.
I wouldn't be too concerned about ground water contamination, this is just one household right? It's not like it's industrial waste.
You're local forestry department will know about cesspits and the implications.
Logging camps, mining exploration, drill sites, all work with cesspits.

One thing that hasn't been mentioned is your bank. I'm assuming you will be getting a mortgage? If your bank is not okay with this, then there's no deal.

Otherwise, I'd make the current owner fix it subject to independent verification and approval, yadda, yadda.

[mos6507]

See if your zoning allows for a composting toilet and graywater system and if so, sidestep the septic altogether, pocketing the savings. That's what everybody should be doing anyway with their waste. A house with failed septic shouldn't scare off doomers the way it does J6P. Use it to your advantage.

[SpringCreekFarm]

Run away unless there is some really good reason to buy. There may be more problems that they are not telling you.

[dunewalker]

Buy a piece of land that's not already f****ed up, build your own house the way you want it.

edit: please change my vote from "Knock Off" to "Sprint"

[Maddog78]

Run away.
There will be plenty of land for sale in BC when the recently unemployed's UI benefits run out.

[highlander]

With ground that is borderline on perc tests, most health districts will require an engineered septic system. It will likely cosy 10-15K and require much more maintenance than a conventional septic. The composting toilet idea is great, but your greywater still needs a drainfield. I'd walk away. Too bad.

[OutOfGas]

If you really like the property ask them to fix it and have it inspected.

They probably will not agree to fix if they think they can find another buyer who will not use an inspector.

My neighbor built a new house and he thought he was hooked up to the city sewer. If fact he was connected to an old water line. It took 10 years for this line to fill up and he began to have problems.

He had a real mess on his hands.

[Schmuto]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('TreeFarmer', '
')I would however be willing to put a decent amount down (not a tremendous amount) under a few condtions. Things like:

Your lawyer holds your money

[davep]

If you're happy to go ahead, despite being lied to, I'd say get the asking price lowered. Then use composting toilets

[pup55]

If you like the place, then you should work with them....

For one thing you now have the power of knowlege....You know, and they know, that they are going to have to do something with that pit or they cannot sell the house to the next guy either....So, you are the buyer, you should get some respect for being patient...

I am involved in a situation like this right now.... pup28's house.... He did not do maintenance on that place for years, we have a buyer, they have a list of things that need to be fixed, and it's an estate situation so there is some money around to do the work.... so they are going through with a fine tooth comb and making sure I get the place up to standard before they close the deal. I do not want to particularly lose the buyer, so I am being cooperative, plus I know that any other buyer is going to ask for the same thing....so it doesn't really matter to me either way...

So you have a bit of power in this situation, but by all means, I would say let them do the work.....get it inspected by the local authorities to make sure it is up to standard, and document everything so that if there is some BS later on when you try to sell it, you have someone to go after...

that is, if you like it.....

[dunewalker]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('davep', 'I')f you're happy to go ahead, despite being lied to, I'd say get the asking price lowered. Then use composting toilets

[jbrovont]

Make them fix it before you buy it. They can't sell it without fixing it, and they're probably obligated to fix it anyway. Don't take a "cash-back" deal from them to pay for it because 1) it's illegal, and 2) because it would be rolled into your mortgage, you'd pay for it 3 times over - you'd own a $120,000 sh*t hole - literally. Additionally, a bank probably won't finance it before it's fixed because they couldn't sell the house if they needed to without fixing it, so you'd have to conceal the information from the underwriter - which is also illegal.

[gnm]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('dunewalker', 'B')uy a piece of land that's not already f****ed up, build your own house the way you want it.

edit: please change my vote from "Knock Off" to "Sprint"