I apologize for my blogging hiatus this past week. Things have been pretty crazy lately around the personal front. We've been trying to sell our home for about a year now. The housing market sucks...and I apologize again if that word offends you, but there doesn't seem to be an appropriate, non-cuss word that I can use to describe my annoyance and anger over it. We've received 2 verbals and 1 written. The 2 verbals walked before touching pen to paper and the written walked after we wouldn't concede to their ridiculous demands upon inspection.
We received another written offer on our home last week Monday. It took us a long time to get over the shock of the ridiculously low amount offered. But the counter was reasonable to work with and we ended up agreeing. So then came the inspection. And more worries about the septic.
12pm Sunday the 6th
The septic.
Ugh...those 2 words make me cringe like none other as a homeowner.
We moved into this house in July of 2007. We had actually purchased it in June of 2005 but couldn't move in until after military-service obligations came to and end. The house sat for those 2 years. AND since this house was a foreclosure, it sat for another 3 years BEFORE that. 5 years of a home sitting, unoccupied will do a number on it.
Within the first 9 months here, the water heater and main furnace (there are 2 in the home) broke and needed to be fully replaced. A water softened and in-house water filtration system needed to be installed because the water was so horrible. The well tank burst and needed to be replaced. The well pump froze and was rebuilt. The toilet sprung a leak and was replaced.
My checkbook was not a happy camper that year.
But my checkbook probably cussed me out with the NEXT big expense that put the icing on the cake to our very first year there. The septic started to back up. Now, up to this point, besides the home I grew up in, I always lived in the city. So I knew nothing about septic systems.
OR the costs to repair them.
To make a long story short, the old saying about a "septic system never needs to be maintained" is a lie. The person who first said that should spend the rest of their lonely days inside a septic tank. The system in this house had never been maintained. Never. The bill I got proved that. First, they needed to find the tank...and since there was no riser, they had to get a backhoe to dig it out. A riser was installed. The tank was pumped. The fingers were cleaned. The gray water line had cracked and was leaking into the back yard by the house. The incompetent contractors that installed the back patio had drilled a rebar through one of the fingers and...well...you can guess what was leaking under the house. The entire system needed to be inspected and repaired. It cost almost $2500.
So when this current inspection comes back and the buyer is freaking out about the septic, I start getting mad....because I KNOW it's in good working condition. For the record, if you're going to buy a home that has a septic system, you might want to learn about septic systems BEFORE you buy. Might save you a lot of money...a wonderful bit of advice I wish someone had told me.
7am Monday the 7th
Today is the day that the septic guys come over to the house to try and ease this woman's concerns. I'm a pro at this. I know the system. Know exactly where it's at. What everything does. That it's in full working order. How to maintain it.
Yes, how to maintain it! I get it pumped every year. So if you're that "inspector" that tells a potential home-buyer that a system does not ever need to be pumped, don't look at me like I'M the idiot for shelling out $170 a year to do preventative maintenance on my system. I'd rather shell out that $170 a year for 15 years than shell out $2500 at one pop.
10 am Monday the 7th
Just as I already knew, there's nothing wrong with the septic. Big surprise there! So here's hoping this woman is "comfortable" enough and is willing to proceed with the sale. Wish us luck!
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