Massachusetts buyers:
What you need to know about
Title 5 septic inspections
In Massachusetts, a special type of septic inspection (called a Title 5 inspection) at the time of a sale of a property. This is typically done by the seller, but this is not written into law (99.8% of the time the seller does this). It involves digging up components of the system to determine their location and functional condition. While the Title 5 inspection, on balance, is a good thing for buyers (and a disaster for homeowner/sellers) as it often reveals systems that have outright failed or that will fail within a couple of years, it is not a warranty or guarantee of future performance (sorry to sound like a lawyer) for the following reasons:
First, the Title 5 inspection is based on the current level of water usage in the home. The inspection does not involve running a quantity of water to determine if the system backs up under higher flows. So, a system that may work fine for a household of two, or for seasonal or limited usage, may fail quickly when a larger household moves in, or the water usage is dramatically increased. If the property currently has one or two occupants, and you are moving in with a family of 4+, the system may not prove to be adequate for your larger family. In some cases, homeowners have virtually stopped running water in order to pass their Title 5 inspection.
Second and related, the Title 5 inspection does not determine the existing or future leaching capacity of the system. In some cases, I have had homes where the system was older and may have been under-utilized, in which I suspected that the remaining leaching capacity may be limited, but the system did pass Title 5 as none of the specific failure criteria were present. Be careful with older systems!
Third, while not rampant, I have seen and heard of a number of cases of fraudulent Title 5 inspections. In one case, I did an inspection on an almost new home that had an improperly installed system. When I disclosed this, the selling agent advised the seller to not have me finish the inspection. I was 'fired', paid, and another company was brought in to give the system a passing inspection. In another case, the homeowner had a 'friend' do the inspection, and we found out that the system was pumped (and, of course, would therefore show no evidence of failure) the morning before the actual Title 5 inspection was done.
What can you do? First, read between the lines. If the Title report indicates that the system is older and/or may have limited capacity left, then you may want to assume that the system carries a risk of replacement in the future. Find out what it would cost to replace the system, should it fail (costs can vary widely depending on the site and a number of factors). Second, talk to the town's health agents about problems in that area. In many cases, you will find out that many of the homes on that street (if built at the same time) all have marginal and failing systems. Third, you can even get your own Title 5 inspection done, at your cost, if you don't trust the seller's inspection.
About septic inspections in other states…
As noted previously, the home inspection does not include an evaluation of private waste disposal systems (which could include cesspools, septic systems, and other 'system's). Unless your inspection company offers this as a specific service, you will want to have the system inspected by a company that offers this type of inspection. These are often called "certification" inspections. Note that the "certification" is not a 'warranty' or 'guarantee'; they just 'certify' that the system appears to be in working (or non-working) order on the day of the inspection. Nevertheless, I have found that these inspections - in my territory at least - to be generally honest and well performed.
A proper inspection should involve either digging up the distribution box or sections of the leaching field to determine whether the system is backing up or clogging. Ideally, the system should be pumped as part of the inspection, although this is not always necessary to determine if the system is working properly. Although you can ask questions of the owner, the septic company that has serviced the system in the past, and even the local health inspector for any information on this system or problems with systems on that particular street or location.