Title V In Massachusetts Question

[John H.]

I purchased a sf house in MA that the title v passed a year ago.

The owner at the time has passed away, and the out of state daughter sold me the house.

I talked to the tenant today, and they told me the septic has backed up 4 times in 3 years and that the tank is crumbling and needs to be replaced.  The original owner of the house was related to the title v inspector if that makes any difference.

I do not have the cash to spend $20k for the new system. 

So what are my options?  If it backs up, do I have it pumped and inspected again?  Do I have any recourse, or just pump it a few times a year until I can drop $20k into a new septic.  

Also, I can't just ask my board of health what my options are in case the system is bad as I would not be able to fix it.

Fingers crossed tenant is wrong, but I can't imagine why they would make that up.

[Alan L. Weeks]

Septic tanks should be well maintained by pumping every year, particularly if the unit(s) have laundry.  If it has not been pumped within the last year, I would pump it and you will be able to assess if it is the septic system is backing up or something else is wrong.  The pipe from the house to the holding tank can settle, crack, fail, the inlet and outlet baffles can also fail.  Many things can go wrong and you need to diagnose the root cause for the back-ups before deciding on next steps.