An inspection is cheap. Finding out after closing that the system has failed is not. On a Pocono lot the gap between those two numbers can be the price of a car.
Buying a property
Get the septic inspected, and do it early enough that the result can still change your decision.
The specific risk here is not just a failed system. It is a failed system on a lot where the replacement has to meet current code. An old in-ground bed that quietly served the house for thirty years may not be replaceable with another in-ground bed, and the difference between that and a mound or an advanced unit is substantial.
So the question to ask is not only “does it work today.” It is “if this fails, what would the replacement have to be, and can this lot even accommodate one.”
What we look at
- Locate the tank and open it. A system that cannot be located cannot be inspected.
- Tank condition, inlet and outlet baffles, and the effluent filter if there is one
- Sludge and scum depth, which tells you about pumping history
- Signs of backflow from the absorption area into the tank, which is one of the clearest indicators of field failure
- The absorption area surface, checking for ponding, odour, soft ground, and vegetation patterns
- Distribution box condition and whether flow is actually being distributed evenly
- Pump chamber, floats, alarm, and control panel where the system has them
- Setbacks from the well and any surface water
- Township permit records for what was actually installed and when
You get a written report you can hand to a lender, an attorney, or the other side of a negotiation.
Two things that mislead buyers
A recent pump-out receipt. A tank pumped last week looks healthy no matter what condition the absorption area is in. If anything, a pump-out immediately before an inspection is worth asking about rather than being reassured by.
“It has never given us any trouble.” Often true and often irrelevant, particularly on a property that has been used seasonally. A system serving two people three weekends a month is not being tested the way it will be by a family of five living there full time.
Whether an inspection is actually required
There is no single statewide rule. Pennsylvania handles this through municipal sewage management programs under Act 537, so what applies to you depends on your township rather than the county or the state.
In practice the most common trigger is a property transfer, and a number of municipalities have point-of-sale ordinances requiring an inspection before a sale completes. Separately, several Monroe County townships run ongoing pumping and inspection programs with reporting requirements. Pocono Township, for example, requires written pumping and inspection reports to be filed with the township, and enforces it.
Ask your township office what applies at your address. It is a short phone call and the answer is binding on you either way.
Selling a property
Inspect before you list rather than after you have an offer. If something is wrong, you want to know while you still have time and leverage, not while a buyer’s lender is counting days.
If a problem does turn up, get the soil tested before you price a fix into the deal. A replacement quote without a soil test result is a guess, and if the guess is low you will be absorbing the difference.
Diagnostic inspections
Not every inspection is tied to a sale. Sometimes something is off and you want to know how bad it is before spending money.
We locate and open the system, assess the tank and the field, and tell you which of three situations you are in: maintenance, repair, or replacement. Those are very different numbers and it is worth knowing which one you are looking at. More on replacement.
Second homes and rentals
A large share of properties here are not primary residences, and that changes the inspection calculus.
Intermittent heavy use is harder on a system than steady daily use, and an absent owner does not see the early warning signs. By the time a guest reports a backup, the problem has usually been developing for a while. If you own a rental in this county, an inspection every couple of years is inexpensive insurance against a peak-season emergency.
Book an inspection
Tell us the address and whether this is a purchase, a sale, or a diagnostic.