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I noticed that some of the houses that I looked at have septic tank.
Wonder if anyone has septic tank at their homes and have dealt with 1.
I grew up in a house with septic tank. I don't remember much about it other it being in the back of the house, underground. It didn't smell nor bother us in anyway. Except our house toilets were clogged quite a bit. I think it was due to our dad didn't have people come and pump it out regularly.
Do you think it would affect resale value of a house? Would u buy a house with septic tank?
Septic is very common where I live. Nothing to be concerned about as long as you have them pumped out ever few years. Depends on size of household, you can go 5+ years between pumps if it's just one or two people living there. ~$275 to pump them out. I hear it's a real schitty job!
Make sure to get it inspected and ask the current homeowner if they have a receipt from the last pump. When we bought our last home, the attorney screwed up and forgot request the septic inspection. When the guy came out to pump it, he said it's probably been 10 years since it was last pumped.
Yes it will affect resale value. If other homes in the area are not on septic - in the long run you would be better served to remove it and hook up to the city/county services if that is an option.
It will only affect resale if you are the only home out of many around you that are on septic. If the rest of the neighborhood is on septic too, which is usually the case, you'll be OK. If you take proper care of your system by not flushing things like paper towels or food waste and using toilet paper that is septic safe, you will be fine. Have it pumped every 3 to 5 years depending on how many people live in the house and how big the tank is. Have it pumped when you first move in and the septic tech can give you more precise maintenance tips.
One part about tanks that confuses new users is you aren't pumping tanks because they have filled with liquid. They aren't like the tanks on RVs or sailboats which are storage until dumped. You have a mini little sewage treatment plant and you need to treat it as such. Maintain it well and in locations where septic tanks are common they aren't a negative to value.
If you're having to pump out your septic every 3-5 years, your doing something wrong. We've had ours pumped once in 41 years. And the only reason we did it was because there was a backup due to our young son flushing paper towels down the toilet. It turned out to be some of them caught on a rough spot in a pipe. When we opened the tank up the guy said it was in perfect shape and to keep doing whatever we were doing to maintain it. What I do is put "Septi-free" in a toilet once a month and flush it at night when we go to bed. And of course be careful what you put down your drains. It's not a garbage disposal, it can't process chunks or grease.
Odds are if the house you are looking at has a septic tank, the ones around it also are, and there is no option to hook up to a sewer. If it is taken care of, it really shouldn’t effect resale, since you are competing against other homes that are also on septic. That said there are things to be wary of.
It is worth having it checked out before buying. And if the drain field is where there are a lot of tress/roots are then have it checked out extra well, or even avoid it. Also, if a drain field is probably best in a reasonably grassy place water does not puddle up when it rains. If the system has not been taken care of, it may cost you a bit of money. Really old or cheaply built stuff wasn’t built to last forever. I have dealt with septic problems in investment properties, and while not fun, they weren’t the end of the world, either.
If you're having to pump out your septic every 3-5 years, your doing something wrong. We've had ours pumped once in 41 years. And the only reason we did it was because there was a backup due to our young son flushing paper towels down the toilet. It turned out to be some of them caught on a rough spot in a pipe. When we opened the tank up the guy said it was in perfect shape and to keep doing whatever we were doing to maintain it. What I do is put "Septi-free" in a toilet once a month and flush it at night when we go to bed. And of course be careful what you put down your drains. It's not a garbage disposal, it can't process chunks or grease.
I would have it pumped every 5 for 1 to 4 people and 3 years if you have 5 or more. Some people get lucky, gamble and win but if you gamble and lose, it is gonna cost you big time if the septic fails. Many thousands of dollars plus the inconvenience of having a large part of your yard dug up.
Yes it will affect resale value. If other homes in the area are not on septic - in the long run you would be better served to remove it and hook up to the city/county services if that is an option.
It will affect resale value only so much as very similar places are on municipal services.
Around here, it often isn't a valid comparison. The homes that have septic are homes that have bigger lots, are often away from town itself. My neighborhood is all on septic, but the lots are big and there's no HOA.
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