Transfer of Ownership Septic Inspection, Tucson

What the state actually requires

Arizona Administrative Code R18-9-A316 requires the seller of a property served by an onsite wastewater treatment facility to have that facility inspected by a qualified inspector within six months before the transfer, and to provide the report to the buyer before the transfer takes place. After closing, the buyer files a Notice of Transfer with the regulating authority, generally within fifteen days.

In Pima County the regulating authority is the county. The obligation itself is identical statewide.

What we inspect

• Locating the system. Tank, lids, and where the disposal field actually runs. On older Tucson properties this alone can be the hard part, and permit records are often thin or wrong.
• Tank condition. Structural integrity of the walls and baffles, inlet and outlet condition, evidence of leakage or bypass. This is why the tank gets pumped first, because none of it can be assessed through liquid.
• Liquid levels and flow. A level that sits above or below where it should is the single most useful diagnostic on the property.
• The disposal field. Surfacing effluent, odor, soggy ground, suspiciously vigorous vegetation, and evidence of ponding or failure.
• Components and access. Risers, lids, filters where fitted, and any pump or alternative treatment equipment.
• Records. Permit history and any prior alterations, matched against what is actually in the ground.

What you get

A completed report on the required form, documenting the condition of the facility, ready to hand to the buyer. If the system passes, that is the end of it. If it does not, the report tells you specifically what needs attention, and we can quote the repair in writing off the same visit.

When to schedule it

As soon as you are under contract. The field work takes a few hours, but the six month clock and the escrow timeline both work against you if you wait. A failed inspection discovered two weeks before closing is a closing extension. The same failure discovered in week one is a repair with time around it.

Where we work

All of Pima County. Tucson city limits, Vail, Corona de Tucson, Rita Ranch, Tanque Verde, Catalina Foothills, Marana, Oro Valley, Sahuarita, Green Valley, Three Points and Picture Rocks. The outlying areas are where most of the septic stock is, and they are where we spend most of our time.