Disclose lift station

5 years ago

last modified: 5 years ago

Hi,We recently sold our home and had inspection and every was fine. There were no issues that we were aware of. The new home owners have been there for about a month and I guess the motor on the lift station burned out. They are mad they didn't know there was a lift station but no where in the paperwork did it ask and it was in working condition when we sold it and inspector tested plumbing. Were we obligated to tell them there is a lift station?

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homechef59

5 years ago

The appropriate response will be through your realtor. Do not respond. If cornered, be non-committal. Then, refer everything to your realtor. Their job isn't done with presentation of the commission check. They get to handle this unpleasant chore.

Your realtor should tell their realtor to tell the buyer that everything was fully disclosed, the opportunity to inspect was provided without any limitations and that to you knowledge, everything was in working order upon completion of the sale. Smile. End of story. Then, say nothing else.

We've all been here. Something goes on the fritz within a month or two of owning a new property. New buyer has to spend money to remedy the situation. Sucks to be a homeowner. They could have gone five years before something went wrong. Luck of the draw.

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Comments (9)

jane__ny
5 years ago
The house is sold. You are no longer responsible for things breaking down now. It is not your house.

Jane
Louise Smith
5 years ago
What is a lift station?
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Denita
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
A lift station is used for a septic system when gravity won't work to move the wastewater to the drainfield. Usually gravity won't work if the grade is going upward rather than down. Here is a much better explanation than my very simplistic version: https://drainkinginc.com/lift-station-work-2/

Because it is underground and not visible to the potential buyers, I would think it would be a disclosure item. Having said that, didn't the buyer have their inspector(s) including the septic inspection tell them that there was a lift station? It should have been on their reports they received from their inspector(s).
Denita
5 years ago
I just checked the Sellers Disclosures we use here in Florida and there is language at the top of the first page that states the disclosure is no substitute for inspections and common sense :) Read the disclosure you filled out for the buyers.
Denita
5 years ago
homechef59 is correct....that is the right way to handle it.
PRO
Jeffrey R. Grenz, General Contractor
5 years ago
Required disclosures vary by state but a lift station is not unique as they are on 50% of the homes I've built from 2018 to present & should be obvious to an experienced inspector.
3katz4me
5 years ago
That's ridiculous. If you buy a house with a septic system and are clueless about septic then you may learn the hard way.
homechef59
5 years ago
2katz4me,

This is why a buyer should be present when the inspection is conducted. They should follow behind the inspector and view it as a learning experience. At the end of the inspection, they should talk to the inspector and ask questions. They are paying not only for the inspection but the education. It's always been amazing to me that people don't attend their inspections.