Here is a simple question for anyone who can help.

We signed the contract contingent that the home pass all applicable inspections. It did. The problem is when we turn on the water, the whole house reeks of rotten eggs. It is the worst I have ever smelt. I guess we should have checked it before we signed the contract... A learning mistake.

Here is what we want. We love the house, but are affraid there is more to the story than we are being told. We would like to get out of the contract of this house. Is this even possible if it passed inspection? I know, many may think we are over reacting but this is the single most important purchase of our lives and don't want anything to go wrong.

Thanks for any help! We are in contact with a lawyer but I was curious about this when I found this board! Very usefull information. Wish I had seen it sooner!

Here's a couple of possiblities.

First if the house has been vacant with the water turned off the water in the "P" traps (curved section of pipe under sinks, washer connection, etc.) may have evaporated and the smell could be coming from sewer gases coming into the house. Making sure all the traps are filled with water (just run some water in all the sinks, flush the commodes, and pour some water into the washer drain) should solve that problem.

If the problem is coming from the water itself (high sulfur content) a water treatment system will usually fix that problem.

This problem should be fixable once you determine the cause.

We would be very interested in hearing the outcome of your situation and what was the cause of the odor.

The owner still lives in the house so the drain is not probable. It is the water itself. I took a bowl and filled it, took it outside and still had the smell.

I know that there are treatment options for this. As a matter of fact, he has a filter on the house. It was not on while I was there though. This leads me to believe that there may be other problems. I am just realllllly scared there is more to the story than we are being told. We were supposed to close yesterday but I called it off unitl I talk with an attorney. I don't want to make a 175,000$ mistake.

I did check with the closest neighbor and they do not have the bad smell from there well.

I may be over concerned about all of this...

Call in a water treatment company and hve them test the water. Whole house system is not that expensive. What did the seller have to say about the smell? You said that the house has a filter, how can it not be on when you were there?

Wamp,

Run the water at every fixture for about a half hour. If the smell is still there then the water heater may produce that sulfur odor. The magnesium rod present in many water heaters can chemically change naturally occurring sulfates in water to hydrogen sulfide. If this occurs, the magnesium rod can be replaced with an aluminum rod or simply removed, although removing the rod may nullify the warranty on the water heater.

I think what we're all saying it that it sounds like you can't back out of this contract at this point. You have to first find out what is going on with the property. If your inspector missed something that was obvious or if the seller knew about a problem and didn't disclose it, you could have recourse.

Get more details from a certified professional so you can get the information you need to make an informed decision. Also remember that there are statutes on how long you can take to file a complaint. Since you have now discovered the issue, the clock has started ticking.

Well, You can back out but not without a lot of problems and money! We love the house and would like to get it so I guess it will be done. The lawyer basically told us that to battle it over this would not be worth it in the end.

The water treatment system is currently being upgraded at our cost, but I guess it will be worth it in the end!

Thanks for all your help and thanks to the providers of this forum!