Expert: liznarr - 6/28/2006

Question
My husband and I recently bought a home in Central Florida after relocating from Southern California.  When we were looking at homes, one of our concerns was septic vs public sewer.
The home we purchased was listed as being on a public sewer.  The MLS said Public Sewer, the Seller's Disclosure said Public Sewer.  Our inspection report (we paid for) said that the home was on public sewer, but that there was a septic tank on the property. When I questioned the inspector about the tank, he said that since the seller and the MLS said public sewer, the septic tank was probably an old system that was no longer in service.
We purchased the house and now I find out a few months later that the house IS on a septic tank and that our city doesn't have a public sewer system.
I have contacted our realtor with this info, but he referred me to the seller's realtor.  What, if any, recourse do we have?  Who do I contact?  Shouldn't the seller and their realtor know what kind of sewage system the house has?
Thanks for your assistance!
Jennifer

Answer
Jennifer,

Sorry to hear you’re having this problem.

You have all the documentation you need to pursue this matter – the MLS printout, Seller Disclosure, and your inspection report.

You mentioned that prior to purchasing, one of your concerns was septic vs public sewer.  A question you might be asked if you pursue this matter is, ‘Had you known prior to purchasing that this home was on a septic system, would you have still purchased the property?’

If you had a Realtor representing YOU, and your Realtor knew this was a concern of yours, he/she should have made it a priority to VERIFY that this house was on a public sewer system.  Ditto for the listing agent, to the extent that since this is public information and easily accessible, the listing agent could have (and should have) VERIFIED that the property was or was not on public sewer.

In my opinion, the inspector, after verifying that the property had a septic system, should have put some kind of disclaimer or further instruction in his report for you to investigate further to determine whether or not the septic system was a functioning one … and/or whether or not this property was, in fact, also on public sewer.

If your agent represented YOU, and not the Seller, he had an absolute duty to verify prior to your purchase whether or not this property was on a septic or sewer system if you made it clear that this was a concern of yours.  Again, assuming representation for you, your agent is demonstrating continuing negligence by not helping you out with this problem and simply referring you to the Seller’s agent after the discovery of not being on a sewer system as previously disclosed.

My question to you is, “What do you want to happen now?”  Whatever legitimate recourse you feel you are due, I would suggest first making a demand on the Seller, both agents, the agents’ Brokers-in-Charge, and the home inspector by certified mail.  If your demand is not timely met, I would seek immediate legal advice.

You can also report both agents to your state Real Estate Commission.  The home inspector, if licensed, can also be reported to his regulatory agency.  It’s disheartening to hear that neither the listing nor selling agent, both working in a city with no sewer system, claim to have had no knowledge of same.

Good luck to you, and feel free to write again if you have additional questions.

Regards,
Elizabeth Narr