SMART SOLUTIONS
Are You Aware of Arizona Septic System Transfer of Ownership Regulations & Responsibilities?
Due to recent experiences with customers selling and/or buying property (and their REALTORS®) with on-site wastewater treatment and disposal systems, we at SMART Plumbing & Septic find it necessary to revisit the transfer of ownership responsibilities of all parties involved.
Whether you are selling or buying property with a conventional septic tank system, or an alternative on-site system, it is important that you understand the rules and regulations that must be adhered to before and after the transfer of ownership.
ADEQ (Arizona Department of Environmental Quality) succinctly describes buyers’, sellers’, and inspectors’ responsibilities on a relatively short PDF available on their website, linked below, titled "GROUNDWATER VALUE STREAM INSTRUCTIONS FOR NOTICE OF TRANSFER FOR AN ON-SITE WASTEWATER TREATMENT FACILITY
https://static.azdeq.gov/forms/onsite_not.pdf
Sellers/transferors of property served by a septic tank or alternative on-site waste water treatment and disposal system MUST have the system inspected by an ADEQ qualified inspector within 6 months of the date of sale/transfer. The qualified inspector MUST provide the seller/transferor with a completed Report of Inspection (ROI) form. The seller/transferor MUST provide the ROI form, as well as any other documentation related to the on-site waste water treatment and disposal system, to the buyer/transferee of the property prior to the sale/transfer of the property.
Buyers/transferees MUST complete and submit the ADEQ Notice of Transfer form and fee ($50) within 15 days of the date of property transfer.
ADEQ qualified inspectors MUST comprehensively address the condition of the on-site wastewater treatment and disposal system, and describe in detail any deficiencies observed and repairs necessitated and/or completed on the ROI form. The inspectors MUST confirm on the ROI form that all septic tanks and/or wastewater treatment vessels on the property to be transferred were pumped/serviced to remove solid, floating and liquid waste aggregation (unless circumstances meet criteria for specific exceptions outlined in the ADEQ pdf.)
[SMART Plumbing & Septic ADEQ qualified inspectors recommend that both the seller/transferor and the buyer/transferee confirm independently that the transfer of ownership inspection reflected in the ROI form adheres strictly to ADEQ regulations. SMART Plumbing & Septic has been contracted numerous times to make repairs on systems that were not reported in the ROI forms signed off by other inspecting companies. In some cases, the system was not even inspected and/or pumped.]
The ADEQ transfer of ownership inspection program dovetails with the inspection criteria contained in the standard Arizona Association of REALTORS® real estate contract. REALTORS® will regularly facilitate the filing of required forms by sellers and buyers. The seller/transferor and the buyer/transferee of the property generally have individual REALTORS®.
[SMART Plumbing & Septic ADEQ qualified inspectors recommend that buyers/transferees have an independent inspection executed, when feasible, in order to protect their interests, just as they engage buyers’ agents.]
All parties involved - sellers/transferors, buyers/transferees, ADEQ qualified inspectors, and seller and buyer agents/REALTORS® - should understand their individual responsibilities regarding the transfer of ownership inspection program, in order to avoid misunderstandings, conflicts up to and including litigation, unnecessary expense, and system failures.
Given the dynamics of the seller/buyer relationship, especially given the current real estate market conditions, all parties MUST take responsibility for their individual interests in order to facilitate a fair and legal transfer of ownership for all involved.
Sellers/transferors and/or their REALTORS® need to take into account the timeline of the sales process under current market conditions in order to schedule the transfer of ownership inspection in a strategically timely manner. Scheduling needs to take into account that the local market is hot right now, which means that ADEQ qualified inspectors may be booked out longer than normal.
Sellers/transferors and/or their REALTORS® also need to plan for the possibility of the inspection revealing problems with the system that will either need to be addressed or will likely affect ongoing negotiations. ADEQ qualified inspectors MUST detail problems with the system on the ROI form. The seller/transferor team may choose to repair the problems prior to the completion of the ROI form. If so, the ADEQ qualified inspector will include a detailed accounting of the repairs executed on the ROI form prior to signing off on it.
[SMART Plumbing & Septic ADEQ qualified inspectors recommend that seller/transferor teams schedule a transfer of ownership inspection as early in the 6 month window as possible, in order to avoid potential time crunch issues related to escrow, and to reveal any issues with the on-site wastewater management system early enough to address comfortably and/or consider in the pricing of the property.]
If the seller/transferor team chooses not to address the issues revealed by the ADEQ qualified inspector, the issues with the system will be included in the ROI report provided to the seller/transferor, which will in turn be provided to the buyer/transferee team prior to property transfer. Once the ADEQ qualified inspector’s signed ROI is provided to the buyer/transferee team by the seller/transferor team, it is the responsibility of the buyer/transferee team to decide how to move forward with the transaction.
It is important to point out at this juncture that SMART Plumbing & Septic ADEQ qualified inspectors have on numerous occasions faced pressure by seller/transferor teams to provide inaccurate/deficient ROI forms in order to facilitate the related transaction. SMART Plumbing & Septic has never, and will never deviate from our responsibilities related to the ADEQ transfer of ownership inspection program.
SMART Plumbing & Septic is 100% dedicated to providing all of our customers with honest, professional service for an excellent value. We believe in treating every customer the way we would like to be treated.
If we are the kind of company/people that you would prefer to do business with, please give us a call for plumbing and septic needs, including inspections and 24/7 emergencies at (928) 227-2091.
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