omfrey
New Member
Hi,
I need to get an advice asap. We have a contract on the house (we like the house too) and during the inspection this weekend our inspector raised significant concern regarding the sump pump. Here is the story:
During the inspection panel switch for sump pump was found in OFF position. The inspector explained this is the one switch that should never be in off position! We called the seller's agent and notified them that we are going to flip it to on position. Then after turning the switch on, the inspector tested the sump pump, which did not respond when directly plugged into electrical receptacle. The switch was bypassed by removing the switch (piggyback). The sump pump also does not have backup battery or backup secondary pump.
The basement area including the crock pit surroundings did not exhibit any signs of moisture or flooding. The air in basement was fresh and dry. The water observed through crock pit window appeared cloudy and not fresh. The crock pit was sealed thoroughly and the inspector did not attempt to unseal it to investigate further.
Besides the obvious finding (non-working sump pump), two other concerns that inspector raised: why was the switch on panel in OFF position? Did seller intentionally flipped it off to have excuse later that pump did not run because there was no power at the time of inspection? Since its unknown, how long the pump was not working for, and the basement does not show any signs of flooding, the inspector said that the corrugated pipes leading up to sump pump could
be clogged and structure could be getting flooded slowly on outside. His reasoning was the if the pipes were NOT clogged and pump being down, there should be signs of flooding at least around the crock pit or on the basement floor. We had MAJOR rain storms recently, that would have definitely made an impact. Since there are no signs, but pump is down, the water might be creeping up to the basement floor level outside of the house structure (we had a lot of rains lately in end of July and in August).
We are having qualified plumber to stop by at that property and assess the situation. We are now considering pulling out of deal. Inspector has reasons to believe that sellers may not be honest about the real situation. We like the house but very afraid to face something much bigger than sump pump replacement. Can someone comment on this and share their thoughts? Can it be as serious as clogged pipes leading to the pump?? From what I know it would require MAJOR work to clean them up!
Thank you!
I need to get an advice asap. We have a contract on the house (we like the house too) and during the inspection this weekend our inspector raised significant concern regarding the sump pump. Here is the story:
During the inspection panel switch for sump pump was found in OFF position. The inspector explained this is the one switch that should never be in off position! We called the seller's agent and notified them that we are going to flip it to on position. Then after turning the switch on, the inspector tested the sump pump, which did not respond when directly plugged into electrical receptacle. The switch was bypassed by removing the switch (piggyback). The sump pump also does not have backup battery or backup secondary pump.
The basement area including the crock pit surroundings did not exhibit any signs of moisture or flooding. The air in basement was fresh and dry. The water observed through crock pit window appeared cloudy and not fresh. The crock pit was sealed thoroughly and the inspector did not attempt to unseal it to investigate further.
Besides the obvious finding (non-working sump pump), two other concerns that inspector raised: why was the switch on panel in OFF position? Did seller intentionally flipped it off to have excuse later that pump did not run because there was no power at the time of inspection? Since its unknown, how long the pump was not working for, and the basement does not show any signs of flooding, the inspector said that the corrugated pipes leading up to sump pump could
be clogged and structure could be getting flooded slowly on outside. His reasoning was the if the pipes were NOT clogged and pump being down, there should be signs of flooding at least around the crock pit or on the basement floor. We had MAJOR rain storms recently, that would have definitely made an impact. Since there are no signs, but pump is down, the water might be creeping up to the basement floor level outside of the house structure (we had a lot of rains lately in end of July and in August).
We are having qualified plumber to stop by at that property and assess the situation. We are now considering pulling out of deal. Inspector has reasons to believe that sellers may not be honest about the real situation. We like the house but very afraid to face something much bigger than sump pump replacement. Can someone comment on this and share their thoughts? Can it be as serious as clogged pipes leading to the pump?? From what I know it would require MAJOR work to clean them up!
Thank you!
