Seller's disclosure said no septic tank, I spent my day removing one - any recourse?

You've already bought the house, so there's no backing out of it.

The best case is that you could be compensated for the few hours you spent.

If you choose to pursue it, you would spend several additional hours and money talking to lawyers. I'd just let it go unless you expect it to be a hazardous situation.

What's supposed to be disclosed - that they have an abandoned disconnected septic tank in the back yard? Was there a disclosure question specifically addressing that issue? Most are filled with sand and abandoned in place. In any regards, you really don't have any damages other than a few hours of your time, so what do you really expect to get?

How have you been harmed?

I agree with others already posted above. Unless the seller knew about the septic + hid their knowledge about it from you (i.e, lied on the disclosure) + you can prove it + you can show that it was necessary to be removed + show the damages, then suck it up and move on with your life. It is most likely not worth your further time and energy to pursue. Properties that old have usually changed hands numerous times and not all owners know about the complete history of the home.

Usually in OK, old tanks are left in place, but filled with gravel/concrete.

isnt the disclosure something like, is there a septic tank? answer yes, no, or don't know. did the seller check no? That said, even if the deller is liable, your are not out much.

if the tank isnt hooked up anymore it is no longer part of the sewer system

It sounds like the home is now on a county sewer system and the old tank was abandoned. As dtated abiove unless you have proof the seller actively knew about this and concealed it, just forget about it

Holy crap!

I didn't think I had any recourse.

Could also be a cistern, I'm not sure, but there was a terracotta pipe coming into it from the house at a downward angle and I think the pipe sticking up was the pipe used by the honeydipper.

It was something fun to do, I kept some smoked turkey wings on the grill while some friends and I dug everything up, now everything sans metal is being buried deeper and covered with topsoil - my concern was it caving in if anything heavy goes on it (a car) and also ruining a rototiller if I till the land to plant grass in the spring.

I hope that you were 100% certain that whatever you found was non functional. I would hate to have you find out after a storm that your foundation drains or downspouts were still connected to it.

OP, what state is this?

In PA.

As for gold, I was secretly hoping it was gold, or a car a la Pete and Pete.

In regards to drainage, there was a clogged terracotta pipe and about a 4'x4' hole about 3' deep. I didn't dig to get to the bottom of the concrete but I doubt it was drainage as the house was added on to in the past few years (way after the public sewer system was put in) and this would have been 20-30 feet from the original house. Any metal pipes that served it have long been broken, several fell apart in my hands while removing them.

Along the outside of the tank and underneath there were some cinderblocks, exactly like this.

I did also find sand as I dug further, so maybe it was filled before and just settled a little over the years. I'm going to buy more sand to fill in the cracks.

scrouds said: This is why you should never fill out a seller's disclosure and take the $500 hit, or you'll have people coming after you for that phantom septic tank you never knew about.
What $500 hit?

yep. If you dont know theres a septic tank, or an oil tank, or a nuclear reactor buried under you house, you cant disclose it

If the seller knew, thats a different story

Unless the OP plans on never selling the house, or conveniently forgetting there's a broken-up tank buried in his backyard when he sells, I'd suggest digging it up and getting rid of it now. It depends on the locality, but around my parts if there's anything like this buried underground the local gov't will want to dig it up and inspect what's there before signing off on the deal. If the tank is already broken up, it won't be that big a deal disposing of it. Finding a "clean fill" might be the hard part.

Sorry, its specifically a NY state law that allows you to pay $500 instead of filling out a disclosure.

SUCKISSTAPLES said: yep. If you dont know theres a septic tank, or an oil tank, or a nuclear reactor buried under you house, you cant disclose it

If the seller knew, thats a different story
Our state seller disclosure doesn't even ask if there are old septic tanks on the property only if it is currently being served by one. We recently sold a house and the seller was complaining that we answered 'don't know' to the following question (for example): If public sewer system service is available to the property, is the house connected to the sewer main? If no, please explain.

I have no idea if it is connected to the 'sewer main' - whatever that means. I know I get billed by the city for the service, but I didn't witness the connection, so I don't know. But, what are the consequences if you answered 'yes' to that question and then the new owner found out that the line was never connected to the sewer and just dumps raw sewage underground? I don't really know the answer to that question, but my paranoia alone makes me want to answer 'don't know'.

theblenny said: PA Sellers Property Disclosure, Page 2, Number 9 (c) reads: Are there any septic tanks on the property?__yes __ no __ unknown
If yes, what type of tank(s)? __ metal/steel __cement/concrete __fiberglass __Unknown

Who sold the house? The deeded owner, poa, tax sale? Any person other that the owner can leave the disclosure blank and you are responsible for finding out the answers (in PA). Did it smell like poo? I have yet to see a steel/metal septic tank (in my market within PA) as most are concrete.

Deeded owner sold the house.

Didn't smell like poop, the terracotta pipe coming from the house didn't smell that great but I could have just been imagining things - again it's very old and the worms have had time to eat it. It is concrete.

Just looked through the paperwork - they checked "No" and not "Unknown" but in the signature area it says "The undersigned Seller represents that the information set forth in this disclosure statement is accurate and complete to the best of Seller's knowledge." I don't know why they'd check no and not unknown though.

ThursdaysChild said: scrouds said: This is why you should never fill out a seller's disclosure and take the $500 hit, or you'll have people coming after you for that phantom septic tank you never knew about.Would you buy a house without reading the seller's disclosure document?

That would depend on price.