My husband and I bought a house last June with a septic system and I just found your website and after reading it realized we should have had a proper inspection done. Is there anything we can do now?  Jesse W.

This is a very common situation because no one bothers to tell people that they should have the system inspected BEFORE the sale. 

The first thing I would do is have the system inspected ASAP to see what you are working with.  The contractor should...[see the suggested inspection process above]. 

If the system checks out then you are in good shape...but if they find problems you will need to...[see method of approaching sellers for reimbursement below].

IF YOU BOUGHT A HOUSE WITHOUT A PROPER INSPECTION AND ARE NOW HAVING PROBLEMS.

We bought our house about 3 months ago and now we are having problems with the toilets over flowing and we have a soggy area in the yard. Is there anything we can do now or is it too late?  Tim E.

This is why I always tell people to get the system inspected BEFORE you sign on the dotted line. 

But since you already bought the house you will have to try to recover from the situation as best you can. I would ask your neighbors and local contractors if they were aware of a problem before you bought the house. If there was, get statements from these people. You will also want to identify why the system is failing...is the drainfield too small, too deep, in a high water table, or did the exit baffle just fall off.

Get a full service contractor, one that does designs, installations and pumping. A pumper can pump and inspect the system, but they generally don’t fix problems which means you will be calling a second contractor and a second billing. A full service contractor can not only do the pumping and inspection, but they can also do any repairs you need...often a missing baffle or broken pipe can be fixed right then.

They will first pump the tank and estimate the size of the tank in gallons and visually check to see if the in-let and out-let baffles are in place and of the proper size.

They will then dig-up the distribution box to check for a high content of sludge and the number of drainfield lines.

From there they will check the length of the drainfield runs by running a line into each pipe and using a probe to get the depth of the trenches. With this information they can guesstamate the square footage of the drainfield. In some cases they may have to dig into a trench to get this information.

They should then take a soil boring to ascertain the depth of the seasonal water tables.

Some contractors will not need to check the size of the drainfield because they installed the system or know who did.

At this point the contractor will have enough information to give you an opinion on the system. The contractor should then give you his report in writing with estimates for any suggested up-grades.

If they do find a problem, you will want to politely contact the sellers and inform them of it. Don’t go in talking trash and making bad, they will only go on the defensive and start fighting back. I would approach them with, you started having problems with the system and found out the system needs some work and you were hoping they could help with the costs. If they balk, SOFTLY let them know that the courts could hold them totally responsible because they sold a house with a bad system and didn’t disclose this information.

The reason I say do it softly is taking people to court can be very time consuming, expensive and you do not know which way a judge will go...they may say you should have checked the system out before you bought it. Even if they do rule in your favor you still have to get the money out of these people...and they may never pay up. For many people, just the threat of court and a compromise will motivate them to settle...piss them off by dragging them straight into court and they will fight it all the way. Why should you settle for anything less than the full amount? Because something is better than nothing and (I hate to say this) you should have had the system inspected before you bought...a mistake I don’t think you will make again.

And in defense of those selling a house with a bad system...some don’t even know they have a bad system. The system may be slow but they may only have 2 people and barely using it so the failing system may not be evident. "The toilet flushes so it must be working."

But now the new owners are a family of 5 and really use the system hard making the failure evident. I recently saw a situation where the sellers, when they learned 2 years after selling the house that the system was not up to code, voluntarily paid for the replacement, even though the buyers never even contacted them. They were shocked to learn the system they had lived with for years was not a good system.

A few tips:

As long as you have them out there and if the system checks out, have them jet the lines in the drainfield to remove any built up sludge and have them install an effluent filter in the tank. These filters stop the larger solids from reaching the drainfield and most system failures occur when the drainfield gets plugged with solids. You are going to want these things done sooner or later so you may as well have it done now.
Install a washing machine filter in your house...these tiny fibers are usually a major source of problems with any failing septic system.
To find a good contractor, call the health/zoning department and ask for a list of certified contractors...then ask them who they would use if they wanted a system inspected, they will usually steer you in the right direction.
IF YOU ARE GOING TO SELL YOUR HOUSE

We sold our house last year and now the people we sold it to are saying the septic system needs to be replaced. We never had any problem in 20 years.  How can they say we should pay for this? Leah F.

Because if you sold them a house with a bad system and didn't tell about it you should pay for it. On the other hand, they should have had the system inspected before they bought. 

Just from the tone of your letter, I don't think you are trying to pull a fast one. Although you didn't say how many people were in your house when you sold or how many moved in, I think your situation is one that your system was slow, but if it was just you and your husband, you were hardly using the system and the problem was not showing itself. 

Now I bet a family with kids has moved in and they are using the system to capacity and now the slow system has become evident. 

Were I in your shoes, I would explain this to the people and offer to pay for half of the up-grade (20 years in the house, I would say you made a few bucks on the deal).  If they don't like that offer and start threatening court, I would say, "Tell me where and when."

On the other hand, if you were having problems before you sold, pay for it all and shame on you.  

FYI-If you are planning on selling your house, have the system inspected prior to listing it.  You want to know if it meets code and if it is functioning properly.  If problems are found, you can either fix them (and increase the selling price to make up for this cost) or reduce the selling price accordingly, tell any buyers what the system needs and sell the house as-is.  Do not cover this information up!!!  Buyers have up to 2 years in many states to sue the sellers in these cases and you don't want to get that un-expected expense out of the blue.