Cistern inspector

Open the cistern cover, look in the cistern.
If there's a ton of debris, gunky looking water, you'll need to have it cleaned and resealed.
Check the condition of roof and downspouts.
Are they full of leaves, mold, mildew and debris on rooftop and gutters?

They'll need to be cleaned, pressure washed and roof recoated.
Disconnect downspout from cistern when doing this.
Cover the cistern overflow pipes with mesh and c clamps to keep critters out. There are downspout covers you can purchase to help keep leaves and critters invading cistern.

Your home inspector should be able to help with this.

If you're going to clean and reseal cistern, do so prior to moving in.
It'll make it easier.

You can order water testing, if you feel it necessary.

Open the cistern cover, look in the cistern.
If there's a ton of debris, gunky looking water, you'll need to have it cleaned and resealed.
Check the condition of roof and downspouts.
Are they full of leaves, mold, mildew and debris on rooftop and gutters?

They'll need to be cleaned, pressure washed and roof recoated.
Disconnect downspout from cistern when doing this.
Cover the cistern overflow pipes with mesh and c clamps to keep critters out. There are downspout covers you can purchase to help keep leaves and critters invading cistern.

Your home inspector should be able to help with this.

If you're going to clean and reseal cistern, do so prior to moving in.
It'll make it easier.

You can order water testing, if you feel it necessary.

Yeah I'm not on the island and won't be til after I close on the house. People say if it holds water it's ok but I'm not taking any chances to save couple hundred bucks.

I would suggest you empty seal and recoat the cistern before you move in. It is the only way you can be sure of the condition.
What Island??

I would suggest you empty seal and recoat the cistern before you move in. It is the only way you can be sure of the condition.
What Island??

I keep doing that, STX. I figured it could be drained and a specialist inspect it. Thanks for tip above.

Both All-Star and Big Lee's do that here on STT maybe call them for a STX recommendation

Your home inspector should be able to supply you with pictures and info should be on home inspection report. Discuss prior to your inspection.

Clearwater Solutions.

Clearwater Roof and Cistern
Kevin 340-643-7903

It is important to get an assessment of the cistern and roof. Ask to see if information can be provided by the seller - and if he/she has records that can be provided for you on when maintenance was done last.

You can negotiate the cost of needed cistern improvements from the purchase price - we did that. Information about the cistern was included with an estimate to repair in the inspection report. However, we included cistern inspection and condition as a line item in the sales contract.

We were not on STX when the inspection was done either.

There is really no substitute for emptying the cistern - getting it looked at closely, fixing any potential or actual problems, cleaning, sealing and getting a good thick coat of cistern paint on the inside. Getting all the check valves and interior pipe pickups in perfect condition and starting with a fresh new clean sealed cistern and system.
If you are not living in the house at the time it is considerably more convenient.
Getting very good debris strainers on all the inflow points and if possible making access to those easy to do and keep clean is optimal to future water quality. getting a clean roof and proper sized and well designed gutters is even better.
You may never have to do any interior cistern maintenance again for Many Years if you start with a clean system!
Having fresh water to drink and use for all your needs is an important part of home owning here. Hopefully the house is located in a good rain area and the roof sq. footage can provide sufficient water - I have never bought water in my 37 yrs. in this STT home. You will usually have to live with the cistern size - it can be augmented with storage tanks but conservation and understanding the limitations is paramount instead. Extra storage is only valuable if the cistern is too small and overflows.
Long ago I lived in a dry area in a small cottage with a very small cistern and roof area. the driveway water was collected in a separate smaller cistern and plumbed to flush the toilet - a well thought out idea that made it all very livable.

Aside from the cisterns, make sure to have your septic tank checked out to the extent possible. This was overlooked when we bought our place, granted our lot is very steep and tovergrown. Turned out our septic receiver tank was half collapsed and waste seeping straight onto the ground. Costed us $6K to rebuild it..... 🙁