SFH requires $30,000 in repairs to septic and well system

[Landon Clipp]

Hey folks. Me and my business partner have a SFH with tenants currently occupying it for over a year at this point. We bought the house early last year. The house has a septic drywell and fresh water well, no city connections at all. Recently the tenants were complaining about the water not draining properly so we had a septic company come out and do an inspection. Initially they told us that the house's septic drywell (it's not a leeah field) just needed to be pumped out and it should be fine. So they pumped the septic tank and the drywell. A month later the tenants again claimed the water wasn't draining properly, so the septic company came out again and told us it appeared the septic drywell was totally clogged and not draining properly and needed to be replaced.

We hired an engineer to give us plans on replacing the septic system. He told us that the current septic system and fresh water wells are too close to each other and we would have to replace the fresh water well in addition to the septic. He said all-in-all he estimated the total cost of all replacements to be about $30k.

This is a pretty shocking number to us and we're a bit stuck on what we should do. My business partner wants to sell the house and take the loss but I know that we're going to have to disclose our discovery to the buyers or risk being sued. My thoughts are that we could just eat the $30k now and we'll get it back over the next 10 years or so in revenue and appreciation. 

What would you do in this situation and what do you recommend we should do? Would you sell the house or keep it and do all the repairs?

[Nicole Arocha]

Hmm look into your local regulations, I know in CO you can't sell a home with a septic system that isn't in working order or not up to code.
Sorry to hear! That's an expensive problem to have.

[Dawn P.]

Ouch. Is it feasible to hook up to city water and/or sewer in your location? I had a septic field go bad and it was cheaper to tap into the city sewer, so I went that route. 

[Landon Clipp]

Quote from @Dawn P.:

Ouch. Is it feasible to hook up to city water and/or sewer in your location? I had a septic field go bad and it was cheaper to tap into the city sewer, so I went that route. 

 Not possible unfortunately. There are no connections out where the house is. I think this experience has led us to make a rule about never buying houses that don't have city septic connections.

[Matthew Paul]

$30 K is not a bad price for both well and new septic .     Now I do this on drain fields , I dont know how it would work on a drywell , I use caustic soda , I put it straight into drain fields once a year . It keeps them clear . 

I also diverted the washer water to a small  tank and drain field .

( But I have my own backhoe and dump truck ) 

[Chris Seveney]

@Landon Clipp

In most states - if the buyer is getting financing it will be contingent on passing of septic system.

Yes it would need to be disclosed and only be sold as cash in most states if septic has failed

[Bill B.]

When we sold a cabin in MN with septic. Not only did it have to pass an inspection. The company that inspected it had to warranty it for 3 or 5 years. It didn’t matter if it was a cash sale or not. The title didn’t transfer without the passed inspection. 

In our case the rules were county based, so you might be able to talk to your local county officials. 

Ps. Because it was lake front we really needed to pass. When it was built the wall only had to be 35 feet away and the new rule was 50 feet. No biggie right? We didn’t have 50 feet roam the well in any directions that wasn’t in the lake or under the road. Luckily we passed with a few modifications. 

[Ron K.]

Did you have the septic system inspected when you purchased the property last year?  If not, lesson learned.  You may want to check with the local municipality to see if they have information of past problems with septic.  If there are, the seller may have not disclosed problems that they may have known about.  Additionally, how much confidence do you have in the inspection company?  You may want to get a second opinion. 

[Paul De Luca]

@Landon Clipp

If pumping the septic tank and drywell temporarily fixed the problem, why does the whole system need to be replaced? How old is the existing system and how long is the typical useful life? Is it possible the contractor is just trying to land a big job? When you bought the property, was there any evidence that the septic system was in poor condition? I think you should be getting 3-5 opinions & estimates on this.

[Henry T.]

Rent an excavator and start digging a drainfield far enough away from the well.  Line with sand. install drain chambers or drain pipe. Cover it up.  Two guys can be done in a day.

[Rodney Sums]

Quote from @Landon Clipp:

Hey folks. Me and my business partner have a SFH with tenants currently occupying it for over a year at this point. We bought the house early last year. The house has a septic drywell and fresh water well, no city connections at all. Recently the tenants were complaining about the water not draining properly so we had a septic company come out and do an inspection. Initially they told us that the house's septic drywell (it's not a leeah field) just needed to be pumped out and it should be fine. So they pumped the septic tank and the drywell. A month later the tenants again claimed the water wasn't draining properly, so the septic company came out again and told us it appeared the septic drywell was totally clogged and not draining properly and needed to be replaced.

We hired an engineer to give us plans on replacing the septic system. He told us that the current septic system and fresh water wells are too close to each other and we would have to replace the fresh water well in addition to the septic. He said all-in-all he estimated the total cost of all replacements to be about $30k.

This is a pretty shocking number to us and we're a bit stuck on what we should do. My business partner wants to sell the house and take the loss but I know that we're going to have to disclose our discovery to the buyers or risk being sued. My thoughts are that we could just eat the $30k now and we'll get it back over the next 10 years or so in revenue and appreciation. 

What would you do in this situation and what do you recommend we should do? Would you sell the house or keep it and do all the repairs?

 Get a second, third, and even fourth opinion on what it would take to get your current system working and if it's possible without a whole replacement. 

if it is, I co sign what others said such as:

investigate if the seller to you knew there was a problem

Did you have it inspected when you bought and if so, how come they didn't see the problem?

If you didn't have it inspected, always do that. Septic, sewer, even the outhouse 😁. I always have plumbing and sewer inspected.