If you’re considering the purchase of a new home, you already know that there can be a variety of expenses involved before you ever take ownership of the property. If saving money is a concern, you may be tempted to forgo some inspections in favor of pocketing the cash for upgrades and personalization of your new home. However, opting to skip the septic tank inspection can be a mistake that costs you far more money than you bargained for.
Your mortgage lender will probably require you to have the structure, HVAC and internal plumbing of a property inspected before they will approve the loan. Because sewer inspections aren’t always required by all mortgage companies and banks, it’s easy to either forget the inspection or deliberately opt not to obtain one. That leaves you essentially purchasing a home blind to any issues that could present themselves with the septic system down the road.
Replacing or even repairing a septic system that has been damaged or has degraded over time can be exorbitantly expensive and very time consuming. By having the septic system inspected before you complete the purchase of a new home, you will be able to learn more about the condition of the existing system.
In some cases, the condition of that system may be precarious enough that you choose not to purchase the home after considering the potential cost of future repairs or full system replacement. Buying that home without an inspection, however, leaves you with no choice but to take the risk of running into severe septic system problems down the line, and to foot the bill for those repairs.
