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Seller refusing to extend inspection period 3 days to get an estimate on newly discovered septic issues. Should we walk?

My husband and I are in Vermont, looking for an older home with no major system issues that we can gradually improve, mostly DIY. We thought we'd found the perfect place. It's early 20th century and has been well maintained. It's adorable, it has some land, original wood floors, mostly restored with a couple still under ugly linoleum. It's been on the market for a bit, so after a bit of back-and-forth we landed just under the asking price.

So, we quickly got our inspection going. Results were almost entirely positive - the original slate roof doesn't leak, and is just in need of standard maintenance, the foundation and structure are sound, electrical is 100A, but external wiring is sized for 200, newer propane heat and hot water. There's quite a bit of cosmetic/upgrade work to do, but it was all pretty much what we were expecting.

Then we got to the septic. It has a newer plastic tank, but the leach system is an ancient dry well. It hadn't failed, but was completely full. So basically it will need to be replaced sometime between tomorrow and 5 years from now. Due to regulations in Vermont, that replacement is going to cost 20-40k unless we get extremely lucky on the perc test (most likely will have to install a mound and pump station). New systems also require an engineer to design and sign off.

So, we asked for a 10k price reduction to help offset the cost, and 3 extra days on our inspection window (which was only 2 weeks to begin with) to get an engineer out and to get the results of a perc test. This would be at our expense and would not delay closing. The seller verbally agreed, and we scheduled the test. Then the next day, they suddenly said no more addenda, no price change, no extension, take it or leave it. We offered to drop the credit, and just for the extra time to make an informed decision. Seller refused.

We are flabbergasted. The only two rational explanations I can think of are that 1) They have a side offer and want us to back out, or 2) They actually know what we're going to find with the perc test, and want us to be locked in before we find out. Otherwise, I'm totally baffled.

If it turns out the septic is going to be in the 40k range and the old one dies before we have time to save back up/build some equity, it's not going to be a great situation. Not lose-the-house bad, but a pretty tight spot.

We've kind of fallen in love with the house, and leaving the septic aside, it's a really good deal. It's going to take a while to find something else in our price range that checks as many boxes as this one. But, with the risk and the bizarre seller behavior, do we just walk?

submitted by /u/intrepidnovice
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source https://www.reddit.com/r/RealEstate/comments/1hytwhh/seller_refusing_to_extend_inspection_period_3/
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