I was very fortunate to have my very first real estate transaction be a friend/old co-worker. She put her faith in me as a new agent and it worked out wonderfully, but not without me learning more than I thought I would.
Joan and Eric set out to look for homes spring of 2012. Something more rural, decent sized yard and not falling down. The first home we looked at was supposed to be The One and if it wasn't they were going to wait a year. It wasn't and they didn't, thankfully for me. We did find The One by house #6. A cute little A-Frame with a side lot yard in Colden, NY. I had the fortune of my very first contract involving well water and a septic system. Both things I knew nothing about as they aren't prevalent my home town.
Excellent.
I went and did some research on the systems and both the buyers lender and my mentor were very helpful throughout the entire process. Both required testing showing they were safe and in working order in order for the buyer to obtain their loan. The county did their well testing, no problem. As for the septic... another story.
The house had been vacant for at least 6 months. Testing required the bathrooms to be regularly used for at least 30 days prior to testing. Fantastic. The buyers lender would not allow my clients to move in early to get the toilets in working condition, so to speak, so the seller temporarily moved back in.
The closing date had to be pushed back a month... sigh.
Thirty days were up, septic was tested and passed. Done right? Nope. County lost the well results in the mean time. I kid you not. We had to get the well retested. Testing was redone and passed, by the county at least. The buyers lender would not accept a passing grade for the well because it sited that the well passed with aid of the chlorination device/system.
The buyers, county water department and I could not wrap our heads around this. I was under the assumption all well water systems has something that filtered and cleaned the water as precaution. Please correct me if I'm wrong. The buyers wound up paying an outside water testing facility to re-test the water to get a report that just said it passed. The county would not take the clarification to its passing grade off their report. I completely understand.
Exactly three months after we submitted our offer, my first buyers were able to move into their first home. To this day I am thankful for the faith they had in me and the learning experience I was able to have. Who knew it'd be the beginning to a long line of Adventures in Real Estate?
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