Bacteria in well

[rodeosweetheart]

Hi All, thought I would solicit your opinion about a house we have been trying to buy. It was supposed to close on Friday, and the sellers were supposed to have the results of well and septic tests to us by August 16. They did not do so. They did not start testing until last week, and today we were notified the well failed as drinking water has bacteria and is unsafe.

REaltor blithely said "they have shocked the well and will try again" but a. you should not retest for 5-7 days after you shock a well and b. we had a bad well once in our old farm and had to repair both well and septic, to tune of 11,000 dollars. Shocking the well could result in a false "all is well reading".

The mortgage loan has been approved, although there is a well contigency on the mortgage, so I assume they would withdraw the loan approval if they knew of the unsafe water report. But I dont know, we have gotten a bad feeling about the bank lady, and the appraiser never set foot inside the house, which did not build my confidence with their appraisal process.

I don't trust our realtor any more. OUr lawyer said we can withdraw from the deal --he said "Do you love the house? If not, I'd walk."
We could withdraw because the seller has not done the tests in a timely fashion and there is no way this thing is gonna close on Friday.

WE have been scr#wing around with this house for 2 months--the inspection revealed electrical problems, so seller is giving us cash back at closing--but same realtor provided her guy to come in and give a low bid on what the electric woud be.

My husband wants the house very badly. I have a bad feeling due to so many things needing fixing, so much deferred maintainance, to me it looks like the money pit, and now this.

I don't want a uv water purification system. I just want a nice safe well. I actually want a smaller, cheaper house with less maintainance. Husband wnats house very badly. I don't. Am trying to please him, but feel so much dread about this whole mess.

What would you guys do? Gotta do something fast, now.

Any ideas on this well thing, real estate deal in general?

Oh, and this house requires mortgage, and I don't want a mortgage. We both want a bigger house--our current house is only 850 square feet, and it's too small for us. But we don't have a mortgage. Taxes and utilities will go up if we get the behemoth. But I honestly don't want this behemoth. I actually prayed it would fail the water test.

Sorry this is so long.

[sweetana3]

There is zero way I would complete the sale of a house that had a problem with its drinking water. Unsafe!!! This appears to be yet one more nail in the coffin.

[lmerullo]

I would run (not walk) away from the deal.

Unsafe water is not something I would trust -even if it can pass this test his will you know if there is another problem in the future?

[lhamo]

what did it used to say on the magic 8 ball? "All signs point to no"? I'd also run, not necessarily because of the well, but because of everything put together saying this is not the right deal for you now.

[peggy]

Don't do it. I once agreed to buy a house I really didn't like because hubby wanted it so badly and i just hated that house the whole time I was there. It's your mortgage too, and you will resent paying every month for a house you don't like and never wanted, and you will come to resent your hubby too. Thankfully we sold that place and now have a place we both love, but I would never again make such a huge life choice just to please someone else.
I would strongly recommend having a heart to heart with your husband and say I just can't do it. Sure he might be mad or upset and even pout and throw a bit of a fit, but hold your ground. Keep looking. You will find a place you both love, and after all, isn't that what you BOTH deserve?

[rodeosweetheart]

Thank you so much for the speedy and thoughtful responses--I appreciate what you all are saying here very much.

[shadowmoss]

I igored a lot of bad karma on the house I'm now trying to sell. I wish I'd followed my gut and walked away.

[rodeosweetheart]

Okay, now the realtor just sent word it "passed" another test, no bacteria.

They took the sample from the pressure tank instead of the kitchen tap (where you drink the water.)

I think they also chlorinated the well, which can fool the test and not correct the problem/

Everyone is pushing me to accept it, isn't this great news.

I feel really angry, like I am being pushed and cheated, and then being shamed for being suspicious.

[Float On]

I'd still run away. That 2nd testing doesn't sound right.

[shadowmoss]

I agree on the walking away if you feel angry, pushed and cheated. Say you want to wait a week at least after the shocking, and have it tested from the kitchen faucet again.

[awakenedsoul]

I would trust your gut. Your prayers were answered. It sounds like you're being swindled. The realtor wants his or her commission. I agree with your suspicions. You don't have to "play their game." Your current house has no mortgage. In this economy, that's a huge relief. Many realtors will pressure you into doing things you know are wrong. You don't have to do it.

[rodeosweetheart]

Thank you, guys, so much, I appreciate your guidance here more than you know. Just talked to county water person from Wisconsin DNR. He said they should have waited a week post shocking to take the test and that the second test was not reliable for that reason. He said they should have taken samples from both places to try to figure out what was going on with the well. He said not to proceed unless they escrowed money to fix it, and he said it could be a lot of money. I said I had no desire to proceed with the deal if there was a chance this was unresolved problem.

Anyway, now have to convince my husband. He does not agree with me on this. Oh well,so it goes.

[fidgiegirl]

Sounds like the problem might not ultimately be the water - it might be the conflict with DH and not really wanting the house.

I had to tell my DH that I didn't want to owner occupy a duplex. He really wanted to do it that way. It looked so good on paper, and I just did. not. want. to.

We are happy in our current place. I really hope you can have the heart to heart. As an earlier poster said, you'll come to resent it. There will be other properties!!

[Minz]

Does hubby know your true feelings? He probably wouldn't want you two purchasing a home that you didn't feel good about. Buying a home is a huge investment - you should have the home you want (within your means) - I feel our homes should be our sanctuaries! Follow your gut. You two can find a home that you BOTH love. Remember that the realtor wants her/his commission and doesn't want to start this process over so her motives are not necessarily what is best for you! Keep us posted!!

[try2bfrugal]

I would not be interested in buying a house with that big of a potential problem. I also think you should only buy a house that both of you agree on. I agree with the advice to keep looking until you find a place you both want.

[rodeosweetheart]

There were three things they were supposed to do by Aug. 16, that the purchase offer was contingent on. One was well inspection/ water inspection, one was septic, and one (that I di dnot notice until tonight when I went to look at contract again) was the survey. We received none of them on time.

We had our lawyer draft letter to terminate the contract today. They are refusing to sign it and say they will sue us for breach of contrct.

Our realtor is relaying the threats and apparently siding with them.

The lawyer is not returning my calls.

There is not enough valium in the world to deal with this cr#p.

I guess this is what comes for standing up for your rights.

[peggy]

Hold strong! Do not close on a house that you don't want, is a big headache with lots of problems, and is being forced on you by dishonest realtor and homeowners. Plus, did I mention YOU DON'T WANT THE HOUSE!
You are completely in your rights to dissolve this agreement. They did not hold to their part of the bargain and you can prove it. No court in the country would side with them. Not only did they not produce the documents by the deadline, you have the expert water person to say that their tests were dishonest to begin with.
Surely your husband can see how y'all are being manipulated by the homeowners and the agent. That alone should give him pause and tell him that something is rotten in Denmark with this whole deal. Again, hold strong. Then fire you Realtor. You deserve a better representative!

[bunnys]

Whose lawyer is not returning your calls?

I just wouldn't buy this house. You have too many legal reasons on your side to cover your butt if they take you to court.

This deal smells of DESPERATION on every side but yours. I bet there is something else REALLY BIG wrong with this house and they're trying to get you in come Hell or high water. Ooooh. Maybe it's high water they're hiding. Who knows but if they want it this bad something is really bad.

[rodeosweetheart]

Thanks, guys, for all the great advice. We are going to look further.

Now, I just feel exhausted. Hopefully, it will all work out, and I'm going to leave it all in the hands of the Higher Power.

Thank you, thank you, for all the support.

House buying is the absolute WORST.

[awakenedsoul]

They are trying to scare you. You can sue THEM for breach of contract. You have it all in writing. They didn't meet their end of the bargain. They just want the money. (They may have already spent it) You could easily win this case in Small Claims Court. It's unfortunate that there are so many dishonest people out there. I had similar problems with realtors when I had my house on the market. I'm glad you found this out ahead of time. Sometimes you have to be your own lawyer. All of the evidence supports your side, so don't worry. I would be sure to get statements in writing from the well inspector, etc...

[redfox]

At what price would you buy it given all that you've mentioned? Seriously - half the asking? Enough off to remediate all the problems & rent for another place while you fix them? Everyone has their price. Name it, especially to your husband. If he concurs, offer it.

And, you could ask your husband if he is more interested in buying the house than in respecting your partnership & honoring your wishes. It's a big gauntlet to throw down, but important info to gather, IMHO.

Just re-read your last post... You're looking at other properties? I hope you get a much better opportunity!

[rodeosweetheart]

Just re-read your last post... You're looking at other properties? I hope you get a much better opportunity!

We are looking at others, and reevaluating what it would take to feel comfortable with this one. We are now out of contract, as the date passed.
It is very tough to get good information when buying a house, and the realtors say one thing and the lawyers say another.

I think at this point, if the water were safe, it would be a great house for someone. Maybe us. It is far nicer than others we looked at, believe it or not--it's an expensive area, but convenient. Location, location, location. I guess I could get comfortable with the behemoth factor in time. But I would need to see the water testing as safe under the EPA safe drinking standards, and that is a lot more than what they did the first time. So who knows?

I figure nothing can happen til after Labor Day.

[sweetana3]

Real estate agents only get paid if the property makes it to final sale. The lawyer gets paid for his advice. Which one is more credible?

Unless you have a buyer's agent under buyer's agent contract, I would highly discount much of what the agent says. I would believe the experts hired for their knowledge and paid for it.

This comes from 40 years of experience buying and selling homes for ourselves. I have even had agents tell us to lie on an application or leave things out. We had a long and loud and interesting conversation with one agent and broker which ended with them giving us our money back.

[JaneV2.0]

It sounds like you dodged a bullet here. The one you both fall in love with is the one to buy.

[jp1]

Unless you have a buyer's agent under buyer's agent contract, I would highly discount much of what the agent says.

This nugget of wisdom was hidden in the middle of the post. Unless you specifically have a buyer's agent representing you the agent, even if not the seller's agent, is still representing the seller as a sub-agent of the seller's agent and their advice/opinions should be taken with the same grain of salt that would be applied to any salesperson of any product. My understanding is that most states allow for you to have a buyer's agent, but you should check the details for your state.

http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/real-estate/agency1.asp

[rodeosweetheart]

This nugget of wisdom was hidden in the middle of the post. Unless you specifically have a buyer's agent representing you the agent, even if not the seller's agent, is still representing the seller as a sub-agent of the seller's agent and their advice/opinions should be taken with the same grain of salt that would be applied to any salesperson of any product. My understanding is that most states allow for you to have a buyer's agent, but you should check the details for your state.

http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/real-estate/agency1.asp

Yes, I get this. She is a buyer's agent, at least on paper.

She is not acting like a buyer's agent.