Buying house not on mains water query

My sister is buying a house that isn't connected to the mains for water or sewage, (well water and bio sewerage systems in place).

She has a young infant and is concerned about the quality of the water. It hasn't been tested for chemicals since 2008 or bacteria since 2010. The tests are €50 and €100 respectively. Who should pay for the testing? The seller, as they want to sell the house or my sister as she would be the one who benefits?

Also the house according to the advert on Daft has a C1 energy rating but thus far no paperwork confirming this has been presented.

Should she be worried or is this just another pebble on the road, that will get sorted at some point?

The seller will try to make the buyer pay for the cost of the testing of the water, the buyer will try to make the seller pay. It depends on who has the upper hand in the transaction - how keen/desperate each side is to complete the sale.

As for the C1 rating. It can only have come from a BER test. If the test was done you should be able to get the full details online here. I have seen in the past, however, BER ratings that were subsequently "downgraded" when the seller/estate agent realised they'd made a typo

Thanks for the reply Gianni. My (and my sisters) viewpoint was that the seller should pay, my DH (and BILs) viewpoint was that they should pay and then if there was any issues throw that back to the seller to rectify.

There are a number of other small issues too...so it would seem best if she picks which battles to dig her heels in or leave slide. Thanks again

When we bought our last house we had the water tested before entering any contract. This was done at our own expense as we had as yet made no commitment to purchase. Given that we were reasonably well prepared to proceed with the purchase we had no issue in meeting this cost. However, as gianni has pointed out you may be in a position to agree with the sellers that if you progress to conclude a sale they would bear the cost!

I would have the water tested regardless, it is a small cost given the potential issues. I wish we had done the same. Our experience was person came to check water, checked the well and took samples. Nether the well nor the water were up to standard. The well was not capped properly and there was ecoli present. Took several about 2K and two further tests to finally meet the 0 WHO standard. We did get a grand to recoup some of the cost but I'm not sure what is available now.

Woodie said:

I would have the water tested regardless.

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Agreed, you should get the water tested by an independent laboratory and get them to check for bacteria, water chemistry and metals. You should get the water tested before and after any treatment. Also look for copies of the results of tests done back in 2008 and 2010. Well water usually does not change character much over time.

Take one sample at the kitchen sink and do not announce the time you intend taking the sample. Some unscrupulous vendors have been known to "shock" the well for temporary performance boost.

If you dont do this it could cost you several thousand euros and much grief to rectify.

Is there mains water nearby. Even with all the talk of water charges it still might make economic and health sense to connect to a public or group water scheme if there is one near by.

Check the Homes and Gardens forum here for many other threads on well water.