Race4S

I have found a very unique home that i like a lot.

Its for a fair price and fits my car inventory with its large garage.

I just finished an inspection on the place and then decided to check the "septic tank".... that is the "septic tank" as listed on the real estate documentation.

After inspecting it with a qualified expert we determined that its actually a cesspool from 1952.... its working as designed and currently is not showing any negative signs.

Should I steer clear of the purchase or am I over reacting.

Thanks

Tedster

Depends on the size of your family. If you have teenagers and take long showers or do a lot of laundry you might have problems. Also if the system ever fails you will likely need to upgrade to a septic field. Do you have a quarter acre of cleared land nearby? If not that would be a deal killer for me unless I was guaranteed in writing by the municipality to be able to hook up to a nearby sewer line at a reasonable cost. We built our home with a Wisconsin mound type septic field and landscaped it with wild flowers. It looks great and is environmentally friendly. Plus no sewer bills. Cost now is about $25K but will last indefinately, standard field is about $18K and will last maybe 10 years max.

pmichaelis

My first house had a cesspool and the technique necessary to maintain it is to not let greases from cooking, etc.into it. These have a tendency to coat the sides of of the pool and stop seepage which is necessary. I would try to have someone knowledgeable inspect it internally for just such a problem.
My second home, and current home, started with a septic system and field and had no troubles for about 32 years when it was replaced by mandatory sewers. During that time it never had to be pumped because we didn't use a garbage disposal unit or a water softener, both of which were disasters to my neighbors systems and ultimately caused the need for sewers.