Need help with a septic system issue!

[Mnewport]

Hello my name is Mike and I have a question about a piece of land I just recently sold. I'll just give a brief description of what's going on and if you need more info just let me know. I sold a half acre lot that had a single wide mobile home on it. It used to belong to my father and he moved to some apartments and gave me the property. The septic system of the mobile home is on the next door neighbors land. The reason is because my parents bought the whole acre lot back in 83'. They got divorced in 86'. My mother sold her half of the lot to a man named Jim. It was in the contract that as long as the land was in my fathers or my name the septic didn't have to be moved. Jim built a house on the lot and rented it out for years. Well he sold it to a guy named Bob. Now that I've sold the property, Bob is raising hell that the septic needs to be moved. Well the people I sold the property to are saying we are responsible for moving or getting a new system put in, that it was in the contract we signed when we sold it. This is what was in the contract

"We are aware of an encroachment by the 1981 single wide trailer to the property commonly known to be 1053 Jane circle. We understand that the buyer of this property will be responsible for the repositioning of said trailer, however we covenant to be responsible for any environmental engineering
costs associated with the relocation of the septic system should the current location be found to be unacceptable or unusable."

Now I asked about this at the lawyers office and he said that it meant that if something did happen we'd have to pay for the environmental officer to come check out the soil and that it would only cost a couple of hundred bucks. Now my question is, does that phrase mean I am responsible for putting in a new septic and the lawyer lied right to my face, or is the buyer just trying to get me to pay for a new septic?

 

[Mass_Shyster]

How did you manage to sell property without a Title V certificate?

 

[Mnewport]

How did you manage to sell property without a Title V certificate?

Don't know exactly what a Title V certificate is, if you mean the title to the place, my father put the land and the trailer in my name 2 years before I sold it, so I had the title to it.

 

[justalayman]

"We are aware of an encroachment by the 1981 single wide trailer to the property commonly known to be 1053 Jane circle. We understand that the buyer of this property will be responsible for the repositioning of said trailer, however we covenant to be responsible for any environmental engineering
costs associated with the relocation of the septic system should the current location be found to be unacceptable or unusable."

that's all well and good but did you:


actually notify the buyers that the septic field does encroach on the neighboring lot and

it HAS to be moved; i.e. a new field must be installed.

Ya see, the statement does not clearly state the field is on the neighboring lot. The statement above does not say there is no easement but is there by permission. the statement above suggest that the field may not have to be moved. The agreement you had with the neighbor is that it MUST be moved if you sold the property.

Stevef
How did you manage to sell property without a Title V certificate?

didn't read much about it but in a sneaky way, it appears a title V cert would not be required due to the requirement of the field being replaced with 2 years of the sale.

 

[Mnewport]

that's all well and good but did you:


actually notify the buyers that the septic field does encroach on the neighboring lot and

it HAS to be moved; i.e. a new field must be installed.

Ya see, the statement does not clearly state the field is on the neighboring lot. The statement above does not say there is no easement but is there by permission. the statement above suggest that the field may not have to be moved. The agreement you had with the neighbor is that it MUST be moved if you sold the property.

Yes the buyers knew that part of the septic was on the other lot. As for the agreement with the neighbors, I didn't know that it said it had to be moved if the property was ever sold. My dad told me that the agreement was that we wouldn't have to move it no matter what. I don't have a copy of the original agreement and I'm only going off of what the neighbor told the buyer. The buyer just called me this afternoon and told me that it had to be moved and I was responsible because of the above statement. The lawyer that did the paper work is out of town till Monday so I'm just trying to get an idea of what to expect until I can talk to him.

 

[justalayman]

well, if the neighbor does have proof of that agreement, or actually, that you don't have proof to the opposite, you are likely looking at a big problem.

 

[Mass_Shyster]

didn't read much about it but in a sneaky way, it appears a title V cert would not be required due to the requirement of the field being replaced with 2 years of the sale.

Zigner replies with "US Law Only".

I reply with Massachusetts Law.

 

[Mnewport]

well, if the neighbor does have proof of that agreement, or actually, that you don't have proof to the opposite, you are likely looking at a big problem.

Well I'm not so worried about having to move the tank/put a new one in. I'm wondering if the person I sold it to could make me pay for it. I never said I would and the buyer never said I'd have to pay for it to be moved and the lawyer said that statement was just to pay for an environmental engineer to come out and do soil samples. My question isn't about will the septic system have to be moved, it's did I sign a paper saying I'd pay to have it moved/new one put in.

 

[justalayman]

Zigner replies with "US Law Only".

I reply with Massachusetts Law.

I also see that as far as the OP was concerned, there was no need to upgrade the system within 2 years so we are back to:


why doesn't he have a title V cert?

 

[justalayman]

.

My question isn't about will the septic system have to be moved, it's did I sign a paper saying I'd pay to have it moved/new one put in.

actually, it has nothing to do with that. It is; did you disclose the fact the system MUST be relocated?

Your failure to disclose such an issue can very well make you liable for the entire cost of a brand new septic system.



and unless your area is way behind the national trend, it requires a field which, on a half acre, especially if it has a well, is a very difficult proposition.

 

[justalayman]

Zigner replies with "US Law Only".

I reply with Massachusetts Law.

and yes, I get what you're saying

 

[Mass_Shyster]

why doesn't he have a title V cert?

Title V, in my world, is the Massachusetts Septic regulations.

I don't think OP is in Mass.

 

[justalayman]

Title V, in my world, is the Massachusetts Septic regulations.

I don't think OP is in Mass.

that is why the . Who knows if it applies and if you kept quiet, we could have kept it going forever. Spoiler

 

[Mass_Shyster]

that is why the . Who knows if it applies and if you kept quiet, we could have kept it going forever. Spoiler

I could only see post 9 when I typed in post 12. Sorry.

You had me thinking Title V was Federal for a few minutes.