Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Well, try not to fall too deeply in love with the property. You still need to be smart about negotiating a price. But, if you do get it, don't even think about cutting the trees down--no amount of timber value would be worth losing those trees. Good luck.
Never! Plus, in our area, those trees are protected anyway and cannot be cut down. It's one of the things we loved about the property though. My husband says the same thing about not getting too attached. It's hard but I'm trying.
We're still negotiating on this house (seriously longest negotiation in history!). I have a question.
There's a 'missing' septic tank issue. Apparently the owner's husband (now divorced and out of the picture) put in an unpermitted apartment above the barn with a bathroom. Now, we have a septic tank out there somewhere and we don't know where it is. Any ideas on how to find it? If it were a small piece of land, it would be obvious but this is a large tract. I know it has to be somewhere near the barn but we can't figure it out. The owner has not been able to help with this.
Who is my expert to help me with this? Right now, the agreed upon due diligence due to the size of the estate is 30 days so I want to line up all of my inspectors, experts, etc that I would need. Thanks!
Now, we have a septic tank out there somewhere and we don't know where it is. Any ideas on how to find it?
How far away from the barn is the septic tank to the house? If the husband was cheap, maybe he just tied it into the existing septic system.
Doesn't the owner have any clue? You'd think that if a new septic and drain field had been put in, that she would at least have noticed the huge surface disturbance that would have been required.
Is this riverfront property? As ugly as it sounds, make sure that there isn't just a pipe to the river. It's been done before.
Even though the apartment was unpermitted, you should check with the local authorities to see if there is any record of a new septic system being installed. You could also try calling the companies in the area which install septic systems. Maybe they would know if they've worked at that address.
Otherwise, I think your first step in finding a septic tank would be to look at the inside plumbing to see if you can determine the direction it goes towards the outside. That would, hopefully, point you in the right direction at least. Sometimes the cleanouts have metal handles attached, so a good metal detector may find something.
I don't know if there are standard depths for installation down there, but the tops of the septic tanks I've owned were about 12" to 18" below grade. If it's sandy soil, you might be able to drive a metal rod into the soil to see if you could hit the top of the tank. If you can determine an outline, you still might need to do plenty of digging to find the cleanout. (I understand there is ground penetrating radar, but I've never used anything like that.)
I'd try to put the onus back on the owner. Perhaps she could hire a septic tank installer to come out and try to figure it out. They might have some tricks up their sleeve to find unknown septic tanks.
How far away from the barn is the septic tank to the house? If the husband was cheap, maybe he just tied it into the existing septic system.
Doesn't the owner have any clue? You'd think that if a new septic and drain field had been put in, that she would at least have noticed the huge surface disturbance that would have been required.
Is this riverfront property? As ugly as it sounds, make sure that there isn't just a pipe to the river. It's been done before.
Even though the apartment was unpermitted, you should check with the local authorities to see if there is any record of a new septic system being installed. You could also try calling the companies in the area which install septic systems. Maybe they would know if they've worked at that address.
Otherwise, I think your first step in finding a septic tank would be to look at the inside plumbing to see if you can determine the direction it goes towards the outside. That would, hopefully, point you in the right direction at least. Sometimes the cleanouts have metal handles attached, so a good metal detector may find something.
I don't know if there are standard depths for installation down there, but the tops of the septic tanks I've owned were about 12" to 18" below grade. If it's sandy soil, you might be able to drive a metal rod into the soil to see if you could hit the top of the tank. If you can determine an outline, you still might need to do plenty of digging to find the cleanout. (I understand there is ground penetrating radar, but I've never used anything like that.)
I'd try to put the onus back on the owner. Perhaps she could hire a septic tank installer to come out and try to figure it out. They might have some tricks up their sleeve to find unknown septic tanks.
Thanks for the response! Yes, this is a riverfront home but the barn is back quite a bit from the rest of the property and thus it would be highly unlikely for the river to be the ending location. All we were able to get from the owner was that there was septic system "somewhere" around the barn. The entire apartment needs to be ripped out. The owner's husband did all of the work himself and some things, like the badly done electric panel could be considered quite unsafe.
My husband has a locate thing that he uses to find underground lines, etc. However, it only works for metal. Would the septic have any metal for that to work?
I guess I need to include a septic installer/inspector for my due diligence. My only reservation has been that the ones I spoke with said they need a basic idea of where to look. I wonder if I direct them to the "somewhere" around the barn as per the owner, that would be good enough.
I know the silver lining here (as my realtor told me) is that this means they aren't getting the full value for this structure as they would like. However, I am the planner/worrier type so I want to make sure I fully understand everything I am buying, the good and the bad.
My husband has a locate thing that he uses to find underground lines, etc. However, it only works for metal. Would the septic have any metal for that to work?
I guess I need to include a septic installer/inspector for my due diligence. My only reservation has been that the ones I spoke with said they need a basic idea of where to look. I wonder if I direct them to the "somewhere" around the barn as per the owner, that would be good enough.
Septic tanks around here are usually made of poured concrete. The cleanout to the tank sometimes has a metal handle--and that might be detectable by a "locate thing". Some tanks might be reinforced with metal rebar but, being shrouded in concrete and buried underground, I'm not sure if an ordinary metal detector could pick that up. It's worth a shot--a good metal detector might work.
Again, you'll need to look at the plumbing inside the barn to see if you can determine the direction of the pipe leading to the outside, towards the septic tank. That may at least narrow down the general direction. (If there's a handy cleanout for the pipe, some companies may be able to send a TV camera down the sewer pipe to give you a better idea of direction and distance to the tank.)
Another due diligence item that you need to be wary of is underground fuel storage tanks. Check to make sure that they didn't have a buried fuel oil tank for the house, or a buried tank for fuel around the barn. What type of heat does the house have, if any? Make sure there isn't asbestos insulation on any steam pipes or such.
Yet another update. I think I am dealing with the dreaded emotional seller on this house. It was to be expected. First the owner is two sisters, the property was family property, and has been in the family for umpteen years. Second, right when we 'seem' to agree on the negotiations and proceed to actually having a signed contract, they change their mind on significant terms of the deal and we're back to square one again. This has happened four times now. ARGH!
I like this house. It fits my needs. However, I think I'll end up going insane on this overly complicated purchase. It's been over a month now of back and forth. The house has been on the market pretty consistently for three years now. At first, I thought it was just the price but now I am starting to understand why it hasn't sold yet.
There's a 'missing' septic tank issue. Apparently the owner's husband (now divorced and out of the picture) put in an unpermitted apartment above the barn with a bathroom. Now, we have a septic tank out there somewhere and we don't know where it is. Any ideas on how to find it? If it were a small piece of land, it would be obvious but this is a large tract. I know it has to be somewhere near the barn but we can't figure it out. The owner has not been able to help with this.
This is a REALLY old thread I see... but there is an easy answer to this question, now, if a septic installer can't find it through cheaper, easier means.... there are little flushable robot transponders a septic pumper technician can send down a toilet to find the septic tank.
Marvelous what we can do these days.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
A Land Professional’s Value
