La Boîte à Pain - Le forum

Hey folks. We're about to make an offer on a house in Snohomish County that has a septic system. Our realtor says inspections are optional, but my dad, who grew up on a farm, says never buy a house with septic without one. The house is about thirty years old and the sellers say the system works fine, but they can't find any maintenance records. We have about three weeks before closing, so time is a factor. What exactly does a septic inspection involve, how long does it take and who should I call to get one done before closing?

Your dad is right. A failed drain field can easily cost more than the rest of the house repairs combined, so skipping the inspection to save a few hundred dollars is a bad trade. Last year we had Septic Solutions do a septic inspection before buying a home. They pumped and inspected the tank, checked the baffles, looked at the drain field for signs of failure and wrote up a report we could take to the sellers. It took a few hours on site. The report showed a cracked baffle, and we got the sellers to fix it before closing. Scheduling was tight because we were on a deadline, so call them as soon as your offer is accepted. Also ask the county if they have any records on file for that address.