So, we're buying this older house (built around the late 70s) and it has a septic system. I've never had one before—always been on city sewer—so I'm feeling a little out of my depth here. The realtor said we definitely need to get it inspected before closing, which makes sense, but I'm not even sure what exactly to look for or ask about.
I mean, obviously leaks or big cracks would be bad news, but are there smaller things that might not be obvious at first glance? Like, um, is there something specific the inspector should check that might get overlooked? And how do you even know if the tank's been maintained properly over the years? The seller says it's been pumped regularly, but you know how sellers can be sometimes...
Also, I heard from a coworker that tree roots can be a huge issue. There's a couple of big trees pretty close to where they say the tank is buried. Should I be worried about that? How close is too close?
And one more thing—do inspectors usually check the drainfield too, or is that something separate? I don't wanna find out later that there's some hidden disaster underground waiting to happen, lol.
Anyway, any advice or experiences would be super helpful. Feeling kinda clueless here and just wanna make sure we don't end up with a money pit situation.