mccarras
New Member
Hi all,
Hoping someone will hear my tale of woe and help me figure out what to do. If this is too long; here's the summary: I think the sellers of our new property lied to us and didn't disclose a broken 30-year-old septic system. Looking for suggestions about next steps.
We bought our cabin in the woods in West Virginia (US) in early May to use as a getaway +vacation rental. We paid a lot for it because of the market and because the seller showed us a spreadsheet that showed it was successful as an AirBnB. She mentioned "you might need to get the septic pumped; with the guests it seems to be filling up a lot! We keep finding sanitary napkins and wipes in it." Never having had septic, I assumed that was the issue.
The property disclosure listed no problems. I deferred a septic inspection on the 30-year-old system (1000 gallons for a 3 BR house, see attached) despite our agent's pleading to get one because the seller told us there were multiple cash offers and we really wanted it. HUGE lesson learned for me; I feel like a sucker.
One month later, it was overflowing at the tank. We just happened to notice it before there were problems in the house. I got it pumped and the pumping service told me it might be seriously broken but they weren't a repair service. They said they put a tape into the line and it stopped about 12 feet out. I later showed them the diagram of the system, and they said the tape might have stopped because it's a crossover system instead of a newer one. They suggested I dig down a bit where they left a huge rock and see if I see any tree roots squeezing the pipes.
Cut to yesterday-the septic tank is overflowing again. Drain field isn't showing obvious problems. It's not boggy. No dead grass or amazing grass. We had a running toilet for 1 week (maybe a bit more); when I replaced the warped and degrading flapper I saw rusted tank bolts and some sediment, but no other obvious issues. We did 1 load of laundry and took about 3 showers per weekend for 3 weekends; did the dishes about twice a day. There are still no backups into the house. The neighbors I spoke to mentioned that the sellers sold the house suddenly without telling them, even though they were employing the wife as a cleaner between guests. They also said they saw septic guys there a few times over the course of the last few months.
I dug down about a foot-18 inches where the septic pumping guys suggested and found mostly bone-dry, shale-based soil and a little dry dark gray soil that seemed really nice and fertile. I found a ton of tree roots. I couldn't dig down far enough to find anything that looked like a clear pipe. But then again, I have a bad back and am not that strong.
My guess is the sellers knew the system was failing and just didn't tell us. I'm trying to figure out the order of dealing with it - can you all suggest anything?
Michelle
Hoping someone will hear my tale of woe and help me figure out what to do. If this is too long; here's the summary: I think the sellers of our new property lied to us and didn't disclose a broken 30-year-old septic system. Looking for suggestions about next steps.
We bought our cabin in the woods in West Virginia (US) in early May to use as a getaway +vacation rental. We paid a lot for it because of the market and because the seller showed us a spreadsheet that showed it was successful as an AirBnB. She mentioned "you might need to get the septic pumped; with the guests it seems to be filling up a lot! We keep finding sanitary napkins and wipes in it." Never having had septic, I assumed that was the issue.
The property disclosure listed no problems. I deferred a septic inspection on the 30-year-old system (1000 gallons for a 3 BR house, see attached) despite our agent's pleading to get one because the seller told us there were multiple cash offers and we really wanted it. HUGE lesson learned for me; I feel like a sucker.
One month later, it was overflowing at the tank. We just happened to notice it before there were problems in the house. I got it pumped and the pumping service told me it might be seriously broken but they weren't a repair service. They said they put a tape into the line and it stopped about 12 feet out. I later showed them the diagram of the system, and they said the tape might have stopped because it's a crossover system instead of a newer one. They suggested I dig down a bit where they left a huge rock and see if I see any tree roots squeezing the pipes.
Cut to yesterday-the septic tank is overflowing again. Drain field isn't showing obvious problems. It's not boggy. No dead grass or amazing grass. We had a running toilet for 1 week (maybe a bit more); when I replaced the warped and degrading flapper I saw rusted tank bolts and some sediment, but no other obvious issues. We did 1 load of laundry and took about 3 showers per weekend for 3 weekends; did the dishes about twice a day. There are still no backups into the house. The neighbors I spoke to mentioned that the sellers sold the house suddenly without telling them, even though they were employing the wife as a cleaner between guests. They also said they saw septic guys there a few times over the course of the last few months.
I dug down about a foot-18 inches where the septic pumping guys suggested and found mostly bone-dry, shale-based soil and a little dry dark gray soil that seemed really nice and fertile. I found a ton of tree roots. I couldn't dig down far enough to find anything that looked like a clear pipe. But then again, I have a bad back and am not that strong.
My guess is the sellers knew the system was failing and just didn't tell us. I'm trying to figure out the order of dealing with it - can you all suggest anything?
- See if I have any legal recourse - my guess is absolutely not because we deferred the septic inspection.
- See if I can get estimates from some repair services. The one I spoke to already wants $500 to come out and dig up enough to tell what's going on.
- See if I can find a service that has a camera to tell if there's just a tree root problem.
- Pray.
- Look into combining the two lots we own that are next to each other in case we have to dig a new system on the undeveloped 2nd lot.
- Figure out how long it will take to get a septic permit and repair the system or install a new system so we can budget.
Michelle