General questions on well/septic, but particularly in Providence Plantation (sale, how much)

[renlouis]

I'm here house-hunting this week - Yea!! and have found a house that I really like in Providence Plantation. I realized last night that it has well water and septic, vs. city amenities. My realtor just sent me an e-mail saying that she thinks if there is anything wrong with either of those on inspection (or maybe in the future) that we may be required to convert to city sewage and water. I'm concerned about the expense of converting - this house is set back quite a bit from the street (it's on 2 acres and set back at least one of those acres from the street), as well as the implications of having well water and septic should we not need to convert. I'd love to hear your opinions on this. Thanks so much!

[brokensky]

Renlouis, I am counting on others weighing in on this! But I will give you my opinion and hope others who actually live in PP or know the neighborhood better than I will comment.

First of all, if you decide you want a house that has a well and septic tank, you should require that the owner provide that info about the quality of the system so that you don't have to pay for it. You should make this part of the offer. Secondly, your realtor should be able to tell you how much it would cost (approximately) to hook up. Thirdly, you can also make it part of the offer that the seller pays these costs if the inspection shows quality issues. Or, you could make it a contingency of the sale that the seller has to have the house hooked up to city water and sewer, if you just don't feel good about it.

I have had well water and my own septic in the past. My second home has a septic tank (and yes, it has been costly to repair lines to it, but the house was built in 1969, so that is not unusual). I never had problems w/ a well except on one property (lots of acreage) where the water had to be pumped to the house and when electricity went out . . . that was a problem. So each situation is different. I would be most concerned about quality of the water, i.e. microbes, arsenic, etc. I would want a report on water quality.

[megan722]

We have a well and septic and I live in the general vicinity of where you are looking. While it is nice to have no water/septic bills there a few drawbacks: Water pressure just isn't like city water, it seems to cycle with the pumping, we have a lot of iron and minerals in the water (not dangerous just a pain to keep clean), septic just need to pump every three years or so.

The iron and minerals can be helped with a neutralizer tank and a water softener, so see if they have one and that should help with those issues. If you do decide to buy the home, make sure as part of the closing that the septic is pumped when inspected, and check the water pressure on both hot and cold water. If you have a lot of sediment build up in the hot water tank, that can impact water pressure. Can you tell I've been dealing with this??? As far as resale value, much better to be on city/county amenities. I think it is about 2500 to hook up but you'll have to check with the county/city on that one. Again, if they are desperate enough you might ask them to do it as a condition of sale.

[jordysmama]

Originally Posted by renlouis

I'm here house-hunting this week - Yea!! and have found a house that I really like in Providence Plantation. I realized last night that it has well water and septic, vs. city amenities. My realtor just sent me an e-mail saying that she thinks if there is anything wrong with either of those on inspection (or maybe in the future) that we may be required to convert to city sewage and water. I'm concerned about the expense of converting - this house is set back quite a bit from the street (it's on 2 acres and set back at least one of those acres from the street), as well as the implications of having well water and septic should we not need to convert. I'd love to hear your opinions on this. Thanks so much!

We purchased a home in PP last year and first off- you will love it.

Second, we were quoted a 2K expense to converst and than the city charge, probably another 2-3K.

Best of luck and hope that helps!

[megan722]

One more thing, if you convert to city amenities, I believe you have fill the septic with sand.

[renlouis]

Thanks so much for your responses! Any others have experience with well water or septic?