In what area are you? Are sump pumps not common where you are?

Well this is an indication that they have had water problems in the basement.

It doesn't sound like they installed drain tile, just dug some holes and installed the sump.

I would be wary - need to ask a lot of questions.

Thank you for replying . The house I am thinking of buying is in Northern Virginia. I have seen other houses, they have only 1 sump pump installed but this house has 3 . It's a beautiful house my only concern are the sump pumps. Virginia law does not require seller to disclose much information about their house.

Is this an "old" house? What type of foundation?

Sump pumps are very common in my neck of the woods, Northern New England. They do their job quite well when needed. We have a stone foundation, cement floor (125 year old home). Seeing sump pumps in the basement wouldn't faze me at all.

1996 built . Stucco exterior .

In my neighborhood, nearly all the houses have a sump pump...except mine! I have no idea what is different - these house were built on small lots and why mine got lucky, I don't know, They're very common. Problem is that when power goes out during a horrendous rain storm, sump pump goes out, too.

Newer Sump Pumps have back-up batteries available.

I was curious about the power outage question, as well. Any idea how long those backup batteries will keep a sump pump going? If only for a few hours, that could be a problem.

It's tough to answer that question. Kinda like, "How long can you drive down the road on a full tank of gas?"

Depends on the Car Model, tank size, speed, terrain, tire pressure, etc, etc.

If you are always home or nearby, the battery needs to last long enough for you to power on your portable generator. Whole house generator, not an issue.

If neither backup power option is available, how much water is it possible you'll need to pump out? Battery may last for days.... or just hours.

Try Googling on sump pump backup power.

Sump pumps are normal here. In fact, my mom had to install one in her house when city code changed.

My sump pump has a water gravity backup for when the power goes out. It is pretty slick, according to the home inspector who pointed it out.

I would question why it needs three sump pumps. I've only ever seen one in a house. Is it a large house? In a flood zone?

And it is Stucco . I just ckecked . It is a 2 story house , main level and basement .

What's good is that it's on a hill, and the land looks graded properly (away from the home).

If a home has water problems, the best way is to cut the concrete floor (all around the perimeter of the basement) , excavate a trough, install a 4" plastic drainage pipe, and fill the trough with crushed stone. This in turn is connected to the sump. You have one sump pump to maintain (or two for backup). This will ensure the entire basement will drain.

I'm not a drainage expert - but why 3 sumps? If I were you, I'd contact a company that does this type of work, and pay them to come out, and give you their opinion.

One sump pump wouldn't bother me too much as that's quite common around here. Three would be of concern. I agree with above advice - have a professional come out and assess the situation.

The house I sold in May had 2 sump pumps, we had to add the second one when I put an addition on the house with a full basement under it. It was required as part of the town code. Sump pumps are required in many towns here in WNY.

Most of my town has a high water table; nearly everyone has at least 1 sump pump, 2 if battery back up (that's how those work). Some have triple systems installed. I have 3 sump pumps because there was an existing sump pump, and then when we put in the battery back up one (which is actually 2 pumps) it is large so we put it in a different part of the basement (the original one is hidden from sight in the tv room). No point removing the original pump, so we now have 3. And a full french drain (interior). FWIW I live in a very expensive real estate market (I bought a long time ago!) - i.e., a high water table isn't a sign of a bad house. If anything it shows that the owner took care of things. But if this isn't common in this area then of course investigate why they installed them. They aren't cheap so had to be a reason.