sump, septic and drainage question

[rundrave]

I am looking at purchasing a home that is on a 1.4 acre lot, and is basically flat. The home was built in 2003 and has an unfinished basement. My plan is to hopefully purchase and have the basement finished eventually but want to make sure I wont have any water issues. I can tell home was meticulously taken care of so I dont have any major concerns but again want to research everything.

On the disclosure statement provided to me, there is a question asking if the property has ever had standing water for more than 48hrs after a heavy rain. The box is checked YES and an additional comment that states "standing water has been repaired by installing drain pipe and a trench on the side of the property". Right now today its very hard to examine this with all the snow on the ground. So I am trying to do the best research I can up front.

I am mainly concerned with water getting into the house or foundation, but so far I do not see any signs of that.

Last week when I viewed the home with my agent, and I looked in the sump hole, there was a small amount of water at the bottom, and a very steady drip of water going into the hole. That was even before the temps started heating up, and the snow started melting. I know its not uncommon for a little water to be in the sump hole, but I am not familiar with these things.

Also in the description of the property it says "Thinking about safety and convenience, the sump pump has a backup water jet pump". Would something like this be added as a selling point or because there is/was a need for it?

Also since this house is out of town, and is on rural water it has a private septic system. It was last pumped in fall 2007, and again in June of 2009. Do I want to pay someone to inspect the septic system before I purchase?

I will have a home inspector look at the property but I know he will not be able tell me everything or answer all my questions. I was refered to a septic company to do a septic inspection and they wanted $250. Is this something I should pay for, or should I consult a Lincensed plumber instead?

Alot of this is all new to me so I again want to make sure I dont have any issues down the road purchasing this property.

[Fredd]

I know some people who had their sumps filling all winter. I think the frost was not real deep for some reason this winter. I would not be concerned about its presence in the tank. As far as the jet goes, I am unfamiliar. Most systems have the pump and back-up power supply should the power go down. I have a portable pump on hand for misc jobs and back up. My house is trenched on both sides of the footings and I have a gravity flow to the back yard (lower grade with the walkout rambler) with a daylight outlet.

I think that the home inspector can give you some advice on the septic system. If it is a gravity flow system with incremental runs, you can inspect (through the observation pipes) how far back the runs are filling with liquid. This can tell you how full/plugged the forward lines are or the general status of the field. You can probably gain some knowledge quick from the internet as well if you don't want to bite the bullet. IMO the keys with the septic are a good soil test with a good design and good maintenance by the owner (so the solids do not flow into the field and plug the system). The age of the system, frequency of pumping and history of the system might tell you as much about it as anything.

I am not telling you not to go with an inspection, but if you aren't dealing with lift stations, pressure fields or other complicated features, it might be hard to rate (again, just my opinion) I assume also that there is a disclosure for the septic on the closing papers as far as problems/back-ups?? You could also contact the local pumper to see if he has any specific information on this unit.

[Tom7227]

The lender will very likely require a water and septic inspection before approving the loan. A real good indication right now is to look and see how much snow has melted off the area where the lines are. If there's someone living there I would almost bet that you could spot both the tank and at least one of the lines. A decent septic system should be good for 15-20 years.

As far as disclosing a water in the basement problem - why wouldn't you mark yes on that one? You can't get in trouble for reporting something like that but you can get in trouble for not reporting it.

The backup system for the sump pump shows you that the person has been very thoughtful and willing to make investments to prevent trouble. I'd look at it as a positive sign. Same thing with the septic tank pump every 2 years. The owner is doing it by the book.

The small amount of water in the sump could very well be from either the high efficiency furnace or from a humidifier. You should be able to spot a line running from the furnace to the sump basket for these things.

[rundrave]

thanks for the advice, yes my lender is requiring an inspection. I also know that the current home owners were burned on a contigent sale this last fall. At that time there were inspections done, and to my knowledge if anything was called out there, I have to be told this time around.

I am having a septic company do the inspection this monday. Hopefully all is well and there will not be any surprises. I have already made an offer and the contracts are signed.

thanks again for the advice!

[Ryan_V]

Not sure about SD, but in MN a septic inspection is required. before the sale is final, the septic has to be deemed "compliant" under state law. I'd check into that there, no sense having 2 septic inspections conpleted.

[Surface Tension]

Not sure about SD, but in MN a septic inspection is required. before the sale is final, the septic has to be deemed "compliant" under state law. I'd check into that there, no sense having 2 septic inspections conpleted.

Correct, check to see if this has already been done.

[Tom7227]

I am wondering what all is accomplished by the septic inspection. Guy MAYBE opens the top and looks in the tank. I wonder if that really happens when there's 3 feet of frost in the ground. I think that maybe being able to see if the snow has melted off some of the trunk lines may provide just about as much info as looking in the tank.

I really don't know what's involved. Anyone have the specifics of what is done and what is expected of a system that's in compliance with the current laws?

[brmuskie]

First - compliance inspections are not required in MN for the purchase of a property. ABout half of the counties require that as part of a local ordinance and the other half do not.

If a compliance inspection is required or desired - the soil separation has to be verified. This can be accomplished by using 2 previous soil borings on record at the local government office or by doing a new soil boring (which can't be done in frozen ground). The rest of the inspection includes verifying if the tank is watertight, looking at the drainfield for evidence of failure, looking for straight pipes (ditches or in the woods) and asking the homeowner some questions.

The backup pump thing tells me that there was probably a problem before. Landscaping could have been done to prevent that problem from occuring again so it may not be an issue anymore but I would look into it and ask about it. Don't assume that anything that came up in the previous failed sale will be automatically given to you. If it is not specifically required by law they may not tell you everything unless you ask.

I bought my last house with knowledge of a previous water problem. The problem has since been corrected with landscaping to prevent overland flooding during major rain events. Before the landscaping was done, a huge rain would send a river of water right against the foundation and water was bound to go into the house. Now the river is diverted and all is dry.

[jentz]

Originally Posted By: Ryan_V

Not sure about SD, but in MN a septic inspection is required. before the sale is final, the septic has to be deemed "compliant" under state law. I'd check into that there, no sense having 2 septic inspections conpleted.

Correct, check to see if this has already been done.

Inspections are only REQUIRED for lakeshore/within the 1000 ft zone.

[brmuskie]

Seriously people - in MN inspections are not required by a State Law. Some of the counties require one as part of a local ordinance and some don't. It all depends on what county you are in.