Well issues- who is responsible?

[Katie0411]

California
We bought a home 3 months ago & were advised by our realtor we did not need a well inspection, as the well was only 2 years old. Two months after moving in our water turned brown with thick sediment. A well contractor came out, informing us the well is NOT new, only the well pump is new. He estimates the well was constructed between 1930-1950 & was only intended for agricultural use, not for residential use. We had our water tested at a state certified lab & have been informed that the water is unsafe to drink AND unsafe to use to even brush our teeth. We are now faced with having to decide if we do a "quick fix" & put in a new filtration system or put in an entire new well, at a cost for $30,000. The house was newly constructed in 2013 after a construction company bought and demolished the pre existing dwelling. Are there any legal ramifications for being sold a house with no potable water? Thanks in advance.

 

[FlyingRon]

Houses are sold as-is. It's up to you to get the requisite inspections you need to do your due dilignce. Your recourse on the seller is limited to if they KNEW there was some defect in the water system and failed to disclose it.

I'm confused as to why anybody would expect the well to be new? Typically they're installed before the house is even finished and never touched again unless there is some know problem. As it appears it was bad advice from the realtor not to have it inspected, but they probalby don't have any real liability in the matter either.

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

The key here is 2 months after buying the home. You have no proof any such conditions existed before you bought the house. Well issue are becoming very common in CA due to the drops in water tables. The Realtor is not a professional on wells and conveyed the info they felt they had. Your failure to do due diligence on a major selling point of the house is not their fault.

 

[justalayman]

Check your sellers disclosure form. If it states the well is only 2 years old you might have something available here. That would, obviously, be a false statement.


Given the cost of a new well it would be worth having a chat with a lawyer to discuss the issue if the disclosure misrepresented the age of the well. It's not that I see anything jumping out that would give you recourse but depending on all of the facts of the situation I can see where there might be some possibilities.

I would also check with whomever does well certifications in the area (health department) to check on whether there were any requirements regarding an inspection with the new house on the property.


One last possibility is if the Realtor misrepresented the situation there could be a claim against them. If the sellers data said new pump rather than new well and the Realtor represented it as a new well, they may be a claim there for either the intentional misrepresentation or error, whichever is applicable.

 

[FarmerJ]

Definitely go with looking into local regulations like at your city/ county level, In many places they now have local rules that require septic or both septic & well inspections to determine if a home / property that is about to be sold has a septic / well that are safe. If there had been a home sited on that property many years ago it is possible that it had a septic system that was created before rules for what could be installed came to be like old properties that had one or two holding tanks then those tanks just drained off via gravity to a rock ditch or in some cases a creek or stream or river. See in some places they require a buyer or the seller to get septic and well to be inspected and should they fail then buyer or seller has to have at the least a contract in hand in order for the county to process the title transfer. SO this is something to look into.

 

[John Se]

why isnt it safe to drink?

What were the test results? What did they find?, and how much water does it produce?