Sewer vault for another house on our rental's land

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Sewer vault for another house on our rental's land

Vanessa Johns
Investor · CO · Member since 2019 · 9 posts · 1 vote

I have a newly built manufactured home on 0.6 acres in a rural area. The subdivision, however, has "city" sewer through a sanitation district. When I purchased the land I was told of an easement on the front edge of my lot for a sewer vault, which I incorrectly believed to be for the sanitation district to access it. This vault actually feeds from two lots adjacent to me and has nothing to do with the sewer lines from my house. Due to one of these two homes being listed for sale recently, I learned from the sewer inspector they hired that the vault was near full and could start leaking sewage, which would go directly into my lot and downhill towards the house. Upon contacting the sanitation district to file a complaint I was told they have no ownership of the vault and that it's the responsibility of the homes who feed into it.

While I know they are going to clean it out for the upcoming sale, I am anticipating an ongoing issue and a possible future health hazard for tenants if so. Has anyone experienced anything similar or have any good ideas for how to prevent an issue for tenants and protect myself liability-wise going forward? We did reach out to the state and were told to contact the county environmental health department, who just seemed confused and fairly worthless.

Thanks in advance!

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Nathan GesnerBusiness Member
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Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes
6y

This is why it's important to have a quality agent working with you on the purchase of property. The sewer vault should have been disclosed in the title search and your agent should have recommended you speak with a professional to determine if there was a risk involved.

Based on what you've shared, I suspect you're exaggerating the potential problem. We have a lot of homes with septic systems and they're not a problem, if maintained properly. In your case, you don't have any control of the septic because it belongs to the neighbor. What are the odds of it over-flowing and draining all the way to your property? Pretty low, I would guess, but you may still have a septic company inspect it and verify.

If it is a legitimate concern, you should be able to install a barrier or something similar to a french drain to catch any leakage before it reached your home.

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  • John Teachout
    Rental Property Investor · Concord, GA · Member since 2015 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    6y

    Never heard of a sewer vault. What is that?

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  • Chris SeveneyBusiness Member
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    Investor · VA · Member since 2015 · 21k+ posts · 19k+ votes
    6y

    @Vanessa Johns

    Typically when there are shared structures there would be easements (which you have) and operations and maintenance agreements in place between the residents

    I would reach back out to the county permitting office to see if there was anything on file, these documents are also sometimes recorded so that is another place to check.

    How old are the homes ? I would be surprised if they were built in the last 30-40 years if no agreement was put in place

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  • Nathan GesnerBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes
    6y

    This is why it's important to have a quality agent working with you on the purchase of property. The sewer vault should have been disclosed in the title search and your agent should have recommended you speak with a professional to determine if there was a risk involved.

    Based on what you've shared, I suspect you're exaggerating the potential problem. We have a lot of homes with septic systems and they're not a problem, if maintained properly. In your case, you don't have any control of the septic because it belongs to the neighbor. What are the odds of it over-flowing and draining all the way to your property? Pretty low, I would guess, but you may still have a septic company inspect it and verify.

    If it is a legitimate concern, you should be able to install a barrier or something similar to a french drain to catch any leakage before it reached your home.

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  • Vanessa Johns
    OP
    Investor · CO · Member since 2019 · 9 posts · 1 vote
    6y

    @John Teachout it is just a large concrete holding tank in the ground that fills from the sewer lines as they leave the houses and then feeds into the city sewer drain lines. I'm not really sure why it's needed.

    @Chris Seveney thank you for the excellent advice! I did not think to check with the county but in the future I will keep that in mind. We ended up selling the home instead of renting it due to the fact that it was in a terrible location to attract renters. We disclosed it to the buyers, of course, so now they'll have to pursue it themselves.

    @Nathan Gesner the reason it was of so much concern it that it was about 15 feet from the house and on a downhill slope, so if it had overflowed it would have very quickly been at the foundation. It was not a septic, rather just a concrete storage tank for sewage that should be draining into the city sewer lines but was not due to a very old, undersized line. I agree wholeheartedly that the title search should have found this, however I was required to use my lender's title company rather than the good one my realtor normally used, and this is not the only thing they missed that caused huge problems for me. It is a great lesson in just how important a good title company is. They really cost me a LOT of time and money on other issues.

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