Inspection report & septic questions

9 years ago

On another thread, lazygardens said:

The inspection is supposed to be to catch substantial problems that couldn't be spotted on a walk-through...

If buyers don't like the inspection report they have the option to walk or not if there is anything about the report they don't like (unless the "pending inspection results" clause is written to include only "health and safety and structural stability" issues), but they don't have the option to make you fix things to their satisfaction unless you stupidly wrote a contract like that.

The buyer's response to an inspection report should be either "We're out of the deal, there are problems we don't want to deal with" OR a revised offer with a list of repairs and/or price lowering.

NOTE: Seller can reject the revised offer ... and depending on the market, might be wise to do so.

Like any counteroffer, the buyers have __ time to respond with a counter to the counter ... this may go on for a few rounds.

What is normally written into the first offer these days? The last time we bought a house the conventional way was in 1985 and I think the seller's provision was that they would do repairs up to a certain $$, probably $500 in those days.

Does the seller still spell out their limit, or do they wait for the inspection and go from there?

.......

Is it normal now to get a separate septic inspection or is that part of the regular inspection?

This will be the first house with septic we are selling. When we bought, it was a foreclosure and AS IS.

We're not due for a septic cleanout for a few more years, but since I can't remember exactly when it was last done, I thought we'd get it cleaned out before we list it, unless there is an inspection that will also require a cleanout.

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Comments (10)

sushipup1
9 years ago
Any inspection will require it to be pumped out.
gyr_falcon
9 years ago
I would not put a repairs amount; wait until the inspection is done, then negotiate, if necessary. You do not know what, or if, the inspection will reveal any problems that would need to be corrected, or their cost. With an amount listed, if little turns up, the buyers might ask for things they might not otherwise just to reach your limit. If something serious turns up that costs more than the limit, but would need to be corrected by you prior to selling to another buyers, it might be better to be flexible in your repairs amount and not have your current buyers walk.

I cannot address your septic system question, as we have not sold a home that had one.
marie_ndcal
9 years ago
We had to have it completely empty and it had to be certified by a specialist. But we had ours cleaned out every other year. We learned you NEVER put down egg shells. They never dissolve. .
TxMarti
Original Author
9 years ago
Kleenex never dissolve either. Found that out the last time we had it cleaned out. We had ours cleaned out every 3 years when the kids were home, but now that it's just the 2 of us, we do every 5.
chispa
9 years ago
Depending on the state you live in, the septic inspection might need to be done by a state certified septic company. I know this is true in MA (Title 5).
tishtoshnm Zone 6/NM
9 years ago
I would talk to a local real estate agent to find out what the norm is in your area. If an inspection is not part of the standard operating procedure, I recently pumped one is a definite plus.
gingerjenny
9 years ago
we just had an inspection and i'm pretty sure they didn't clean it out. they just told us it was 1/3 full
sushipup1
9 years ago
gingerjenny, that wasn't an inspection. An inspection should look at the condition of the entire system from tank to leach lines. If a lender requires an inspection, it's got to be in writing, too.
christopherh
9 years ago
We had a septic inspection both as a buyer and seller. It had to be done by a certified engineer.

You as the seller don't want to be around when they do it either.

What they did was put red dye in all the drains, etc and turned on all the faucets. What he was trying to do was overload the system. He then would go out into the yard and carefully look for red dye coming out of the ground. If there was no dye, the system was functioning as specified. The solids stayed in the tank, and the water flowed into the leach field.
ncrealestateguy
9 years ago
Christopherh... that is the BASIC inspection and tells you nothing of the baffles and tank condition. One must open up and drain the tank for that. Inspectors here also use a Stainless Steel poker to locate each drain line and they use this poker to determine the amount of leachate in each line.