Buying a home with a well or septic system

A private well and a septic system are the two parts of a rural home you can't see, and the two that cost the most to replace. This page puts the checks in the order your contract's timeline allows: what to ask for before you offer, what to book the day the contract is signed, what your lender may need, and what to do if something fails.

Before you make an offer

Find out what the home runs on: a private well, a septic system, or both. The listing, the seller's disclosure and county records usually say. Then ask the seller for the records:

• the septic permit and the system drawing, usually on file with the local health department;
• pumping and repair receipts;
• the well completion report (the well log), which records how deep the well was drilled;
• any past septic inspection reports and water test results.

Missing records don't sink a deal, but they make the inspections matter more.

The day the contract is signed: book both checks

Most purchase contracts give the buyer a fixed window for inspections, called the option period, the due-diligence period or the inspection contingency depending on the contract. Book the septic inspection and the water test first. They take the longest to schedule, and lab results take days to come back.

The septic inspection

Ask for an inspection that opens the tank and checks the drainfield, not a look around the yard. Pumping the tank is not an inspection. What a septic inspection covers walks through it.

• A general home inspection does not have to cover the well or the septic system. The ASHI Standard of Practice says the inspector is not required to inspect wells, well pumps, or septic and other sewage disposal systems, or to determine whether the water supply and sewage disposal are public or private. Source: ASHI Standard of Practice, section 6.2.
• EPA lists what a septic inspection involves: opening and inspecting all tanks (septic tank, pump tank, distribution box) and evaluating the drainfield for signs of failure, such as standing water. In many states, a septic system must be inspected when the property changes hands. Source: EPA, Frequent Questions on Septic Systems.

In Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina and Washington, the state license rosters we carry have a separate septic inspector class, and some county programs in Colorado, Indiana and Wisconsin do too. Elsewhere, whoever inspects holds some other license, such as an installer's or a pumper's. Inspector or pumper explains what to ask.

The well: water test and flow

A water test tells you what is in the water today. A flow test tells you whether the well keeps up with a household. Well water testing covers what to test for and what the results mean.

• The EPA does not regulate private wells, and they are not required to meet EPA drinking water standards. Source: EPA, Protect Your Private Well.
• EPA advises testing a private well every year for total coliform bacteria, nitrates, total dissolved solids and pH, and more often if small children or older adults live in the home or someone is pregnant or nursing. Source: EPA, Protect Your Home's Water.
• CDC also advises testing when something changes near the well, such as flooding, land disturbance or a nearby waste disposal site. Source: CDC, Guidelines for Testing Well Water.

What your lender may need

Ask your loan officer in the first week what the loan needs from the well and the septic system. Rules differ by loan program. For example:

• Conventional loans sold to Fannie Mae: Where public water or sewer is not available, the home's private well and septic system must be in use, the owner must have the right to access them, and they must be viable on an ongoing basis. They must be on the property itself unless there is a legally binding agreement for access to, and maintenance of, facilities off it. Source: Fannie Mae Selling Guide B4-1.3-04.

What it costs

National ranges are in the cost guides. For anything that needs fixing, get written quotes from licensed contractors while your inspection window is still open; a quote is what you negotiate with.

If something fails

• Septic: a failed system usually means a repair or a replacement, and both usually need a permit from the local health department. A replacement often needs a soil evaluation first.
• Water: a bad result means finding out why before you decide anything. Retest through a certified lab, and ask a licensed well contractor what the fix involves.
• Inside your window, your options are usually to ask the seller to repair before closing, to ask for a credit or a lower price backed by a written quote, or to walk away if your contract allows it. Your agent or attorney knows what your contract allows.

Before closing

Collect every report. For any repair, get the permit and the final approval, and for a water problem, the test result after the fix.

Guides for buyers

• Buying a House With a Well and Septic: The Complete Checklist
• What Actually Happens During a Septic Inspection
• Well Water Testing: What to Test For and How Often
• Selling a House With a Septic System: What to Do Before You List, the same sale from the seller's side

Find and check a contractor

Look up a license by name or license number; every result links to the state's own lookup. To find licensed pros near the property, search by city, state or ZIP:

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Or request free quotes from licensed pros near the property.

Real estate agent? A lookup to bookmark and a checklist to print for buyers.