If a property failed Title V, what does that mean to the buyer?
It means that the septic system will need to have some sort of repair, or full replacement. Who pays for the repair/replacement and how that payment is structured depends on buyer, seller, nature of the problem, and the lender. If a property was sold with no disclosure about a bad septic system, and without clear knowledge that any and all issues are the buyers responsibility, then legally, the responsibility will fall on the sellers to replace and pay for a clean Title V.
It has become customary for sellers to be responsible for Title V for a simple reason; most banks won't lend on a property with a failed system. So when we see "buyer responsibility" what it really means is "hard to borrow money against". As you can imagine, that significantly reduces the number of people who can purchase the property, so these properties often sell below market.
For information on replacing a failed Title V septic system, contact Morse Engineering and Construction.
