Septic Systems 101 For Home Buyers
By Raynor James, Fri Dec 9th
If you're a city dweller who is looking for a home in thesuburbs, it's likely that you're looking at homes with septicfor the first time. This situation tends to make buyers nervous.It needn't.
Let's take an overview of what a simple septic system is, howit's maintained, and what you can do if you're buying a homethat uses one. A septic system is a self-contained system fordisposing of sewerage. They're frequently found in rural andsuburban areas that do not have public sewerage systems. Thesystem one sees most often is a holding tank in which enzyme andbacterial action decomposes the waste material and buried linesin a drainage field use soil to strain out what remains.
Septic permits are usually issued specifying the number ofbedrooms
a house may have that is to be built on the lot forwhich the permit is being issued. How well the soil percolates(how well water drains through the soil) on the lot is takeninto account when issuing the permit. It typically costs between$6,000 and $10,000 to install a conventional system in the partof the country I live in. Systems are usually adequate for thesize of the house because of the permit system.
When a system and the demands of a household are in balance, itcan be literally years between times any maintenance is needed.Some jurisdictions require that they be pumped periodically.There are companies which make a specialty of this. In my areait costs about $200 to have a septic tank pumped.
Home Buyer Precautions
There are a number of things a homebuyer can do when buying ahome with a septic system to minimize the possibility of havinga problem. You can make your contract offer subject to a septicinspection and pumping. You can ask the seller to sign anaffidavit stating that to the best of his knowledge the permitwas issued for the number of bedrooms the home has, or,alternatively, you can check at the courthouse yourself. Justcall and ask what department handles the permits, then call thatdepartment and ask about archived information.
Water should not stand for hours after a heavy rain on propertywith a septic system. There should never be any unpleasant odorassociated with a septic system.
Alternative Systems
What we've been talking about is a simple conventional septictank and drain field. It used to be virtually impossible toinstall a septic system where the soil does not drain well, orwhere the water table is high. Clay soils don't drain well. Highwater tables are often encountered near the ocean, near marshyareas, and in areas near large bodies of water. Some prettyamazing systems which can handle problem areas have beendesigned in recent years.
I was recently talking to a builder friend of mine who isbuilding a new home for his own family. The soil on theirproperty drains very poorly. He has done some research and hascontracted out having an alternative system installed. He gotthree bids which ranged from $18,000 to $60,000. After talkingto the manufacturer, he accepted the low bid. It looks like thefinished job will come in right at $20,000 and the contractor isfollowing the procedure recommended by the manufacturer.
I've seen very few re-sales of properties using thesesuper-duper systems-on-steroids, but I predict they'll startturning up fairly soon. My builder friend says he could build ahouse on a rock using the best new systems. It sounds like wehave some interesting developments to look forward to, doesn'tit?
About the author:Raynor James is with http://www.fsboamerica.org - providing FSBOhomes For Sale By Owner. Visit our "sell my home" page athttp://www.fsboamerica.org/seller.cfm to list and sell your homefor free for one month. Visithttp://www.fsboamerica.org/buyer.cfm to see homes for sale byowner.
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