Need advice on purchasing home with well/septic

In the biz they call that a "pancake"

 

Need to pick the beeb brain on this, too.

The missus and I are looking at a property out on 5 acres. I freakin love the house and location but I'm not going to be the sucker.

Sellers disclosure says 24 years, septic never been pumped. There's 2 adults, and, if my FB stalking is correct 3 kids, two boys, one girl, all raised to young adulthood in this home. From everything I've read, I'm amazed that they haven't had a complete system failure yet.

Also, there's a couple of trees that concern me... two were removed suspiciously close to the time these folks started pondering the sale of the home. One is still there.

The big ass Bradford pear Puke is the far left circle. It's still there. The brown box beside it is the drain for the laundry & kitchen. The other two trees have since been removed, but were there for long enough to get pretty significant root systems.

Obviously, an inspection is the first step. Actually, probably pumping out is the first step so they can see what's there. Do these septic dudes have cameras that can go down these drain pipes & verify no roots have gotten in there?

There's plenty of room if the poop septic needs to be moved to a different spot. Not so sure about the logistics of trying to move the laundry/kitchen drain anywhere... only place well away from trees is under the driveway & north, but there's going to be a workshop somewhere up in that area.

I'm gonna be pissed if this stops me from buying this house... and obviously I ain't going to pay for any of the remediation.




Current overview.




Flame on with the ""you oughta be accustomed to dealing with poop"" jokes...

 

Curious as to just how long you been stalking this poor family?

 

Make the offer contingent upon a septic system inspection. If it truly has never been pumped, they will pump it and can inspect. If it's that old, it's going to be a pretty basic system and could probably stand to be redesigned anyway.

When you get the report back from the septic inspection, adjust your offer accordingly.

 

My parents have lived in a house on a septic system since 1986. It has had no maintenance whatsoever and hasn’t caused any problems.

 

Actually, now that I think about it, of the houses I’ve owned the ones on city sewer have caused way more problems. I had one back flow just a few months ago. I don’t wish that on anyone.

 

There is a FOS joke there somewhere...lol Have a friend with a place up in Asheville... he has an outhouse. Been doing his family biz in it for more than 15yrs...

 

in FL... there is a trust fund to ban septic systems altogether. Yet somehow in Jacksonville... we are still seeing new houses permitted with septic in 2020. Some of these houses are on infill lots so not the roomy accommodations your perspective place has.
That being said... some folks closed on a new house in 2019... took about 2 months to find that one of the construction caps on the main line was never punched out. And the homeowner tried to sue the building dept for giving it a CO. Never mind the fact it was the licensed contractors mistake or that the building dept just issues the permit... the oversight is by the local utiliity. So yeah they can borescope it. Hopefully youre not into scat??

 

They do have cameras to run all the lines and look for roots and clogs etc

 

Since I've started considering the possibility of handing them nearly a half a million of my hard earned dollars. Information is power.

 

If you're worried about it just plan on putting in new and deduct it from your offer. If your spending that much the cost of a new system isn't a very big percent of the price.

 

I own 2 houses with septic. The one in ATL is ~35 yo and original system. Had it inspected/Pumped when i bought it ~12 years ago. Its still fine...knock on wood.

I just bought a 15yo house in MI last year. The previous owners found a problem with the drain field and replaced it prior to my purchase. Cost was about $5k.

My buddy in atl with a house about 2 miles from mine had to replace his drain field a few months ago. cost was about $5-6k.

I would talk to a local septic guy or 2 and inquire about how long drain fields last in your area. Depends a lot on how they were built but also on the soil and how well it drains, etc. And maybe start a 50 or 100 mo septic fund if your that worried about it.

If everything else about the place is perfect and the price is OK I wouldnt let septic change your mind. Yes there is chance of failure or issues...but its a pretty small chance.

 

That pool is suspicious, something buried under

 

Mine was also. I had it pumped as a precaution about 4 years ago, after 26 years. Had an extension added to have cap at ground level. Experienced clean out guy (I know his in-laws who founded the long-time business,) said there wasn't much solids, mostly liquid. He also said it's not necessary to pump it more often. Make sure they back-flush it with what they pump up the first time. This stirs up any solids not sucked out the first time, so they are suspended in the liquid to be sucked out with the second pumping. I can now loosen a few screws and look at the level myself, if I please. Cheaper to pump now, also.

Conserving water helps a septic system last longer. I knew a guy that believed running more water through a septic system the better, to keep it 'flushed.' If you can keep clothes washer and dishwasher drains out of the septic drain, the naturally occuring bacteria will do it's job even better.
When I built my house in GA, 30 years ago, I picked up a pamphlet published by the U. of GA. Agriculture Extension service, at the local county office. It specifically states that any additives such as Rid-X or any other enzymes or bacteria do nothing to support the naturally occurring biological process of breaking the solids down.

 

Major variations between septic systems are soil / rock consistency (ability to absorb / flow water through soil,) Surface water flow, ground water levels, and installation techniques. A great installation can overcome any of the other obstacles. While most homeowners have simple systems, there are many options to enhance the process. A good design plan and installer is the key to a long septic system life.

 

Yeah, that thing's gotta go!

 

Kitchen & laundry have a separate system on the west side in the images above, underneath a damn Bradford pear. (HATE those weeds... I refuse to even call them trees) Root invasion will have to be determined.

One of my biggest ongoing concerns is the missus' insistence on triclosan/antimicrobial soap. I've heard that it kills the good bacteria as well.


Looking at these pictures from googleearth has me slightly Broome-ing about the house not being exactly north/south oriented...


Ninja edit: It's on city water.

 

I have a lot of experience with septic / well systems. Grew up and still own the 70 + year old house with two separate tanks running into one drain field. Built our house in GA on one 30 years ago. City water in GA.

Iowa now requires a septic inspection be done by local municipal appointed buisness (installer,) before any title can be transferred. If property has a well, it has to be 100' from septic system. I'm currently trying to confirm what specific components they are referring to.

Be careful to check an older house / system for orangeburg pipe. Pipe made up to appear like a thick tar-paper tube. Commonly used in the midwest in the '40's and '50's. Likely to collapse at some point. We've had to replace all of ours with PVC pipe years ago.

 

Lot of good info in this thread. It may have been said already but one thing to remember with well water is if/when the power goes out, you won't have water, or will have a limited supply of water depending on the size of the holding tank. We have a continuous pressure well pump with a very small 2 gallon holding tank. No power, no water, so get a battery back-up.

Also, we have a whole-house pre-filter (5 micron) that needs changing every 6 months (gets caked with super fine sediment). This is the first filter then into a water softener, then PH neutralizer. We added all of this and the water is significantly improved. Also, the back-wash system for the softener does NOT go into the septic, as stated earlier in this thread. It flushes outside through the sump pump plumbing (but not into the sump itself, killer corrosion for the sump pump if it did).

 

Yeah, gotta get her to stop using that. I had to tell my other half to stop buying it, it kills the good bugs.