It doesn’t hurt to ask but if I was the seller, I wouldn’t offer a credit. Like a Phase 1 or hiring a plumber to do camera work on sewer lines, the septic inspection would be part of the due diligence cost. Unfortunately, if you discover that something is horribly wrong, the only value you get from the $2,200 is the ability to negotiate down the purchase price of the park… and there is no guarantee that the seller will budge.
Just curious, has the seller properly maintained and done regular inspections (and has reports) on the system?
It’s a cost of doing business. You can ask, but I certainly wouldn’t as the seller. It happened once where we started the inspection and the tank was REALLY bad and they had to pump it all the way down to do an inspection — I managed to get the seller to pay for the pumping portion in that case.
You can always ask for some money. I agree with others that the seller is unlikely to offer much. That should have been negotiated with your offer—IE seller to provide a Septic Certification before COE. It’s pretty common to ask for that, but it’s negotiable. Also, many lenders will require one.
The good news is that if you find a problem, you now have a bargaining chip. Once the seller is made aware of the situation, they will have to disclose it to any potential buyer and are, therefore, more likely to want to work it out with you since you are already under contract.
The other good news is if you don’t find a problem. Then you get peace of mind.
The other good news is if you find a problem and the seller is unwilling to work with you, you spend $2200 but save TENS of THOUSANDS!!
I have been in a similar position. I’ll talk about that below. But first, here are some tips and pointers…
You can always ask the Seller. You could even structure it where you reimburse them a certain percentage of what they paid out, should you not close on the property. You could also portray it in the light where the inspection report(s) benefit them for ANY Buyer, as they can show all potential buyers the reports. Helps in the sale of the their property.
My experience. We bought a small multifamily property (houses and mobiles) that had 5 septics. Called a smaller septic company, and they were willing to give us a “volume discount”. After all, they were already onsite. So it was worthwhile for them to work with us. I believe after the first two septics full price, they did the others at 50% off. A win-win for all.
So sorry for the delay…somehow I missed this. Yes, I believe the cost in total for the 5 septic inspections was $1335. Please note this was at least 3 years ago. Again, they gave the volume discount. Last week at a different property, we just had a septic pumped out (different company) and they charged $450 (pumpout only).
