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I remember when I searched for houses, everyone tended to have 20 years old septic system which is near its end of life. For connected sewage, this is never a question. But I agree if the septic system is new, it is cheaper than paying monthly bills to the city.
Well, as Diana said, its rarely a choice. If you prefer living farther from a city with sewer service you'll be on a septic system unless of course you don't have plumbing. As long as you understand how the system works and how to maintain it isn't necessarily a drawback. The more rural parcel (larger, less expensive, maybe fewer, lower, or no taxes, privacy, sight and sound buffer from neighbors, views, etc) may be more desirable for many. I know it is for me.
If you have city-supplied water/sewer you pay less for those services on a monthly/quarterly basis. OTOH, a properly-maintained septic (its just not that hard if the system was designed correctly) has larger upfront costs but may need no attention at all for years. Neglect it and you'll pay for it, but that's true for most things in terms of houses.
Septic isn't a turn off. It is the way it has to be in those areas that have it. I know of large communities of large homes, 9000 sf plus, of wealthy people. Each home has two septic fields and turn the thing every few months. They can get water treatments. Some of the nicest water for showering and hair.
I remember when I searched for houses, everyone tended to have 20 years old septic system which is near its end of life. For connected sewage, this is never a question. But I agree if the septic system is new, it is cheaper than paying monthly bills to the city.
Corrected to say "a 20 year old neglected septic system which is near the end of its life". No reason why a 20 year old system isn't maintainable. I've lived in houses on septics for decades. The system on one house was 20, another 10. My current house is 38. It works just fine. I don't pour or flush bad things down the drain and get the tank pumped periodically (maybe costs $300 every 4-5 years) so paper, grease, or other solids don't damage the leach field. Pretty simple. The water filtered by the leach field ends up back in the local soil instead of getting chemically processed in a sewage plant too.
Last edited by Parnassia; 07-23-2019 at 12:55 AM..
Septic isn't a turn off. It is the way it has to be in those areas that have it. I know of large communities of large homes, 9000 sf plus, of wealthy people. Each home has two septic fields and turn the thing every few months. They can get water treatments. Some of the nicest water for showering and hair.
You mean the well provides that nice water. Not the septic (at least we hope it doesn't! ).
Now its possible that a well versus city water might be a negative, depending on the well. If the water is hard, acidic, stinks of sulfur, bad tasting you may need to soften, filter, or treat it. Wells do run dry or get contaminated too. City water may be treated with chemicals you don't want, but it might be better or more reliable over time than a well. And vice versa of course.
Last edited by Parnassia; 07-23-2019 at 12:56 AM..
You mean the well provides that nice water. Not the septic (at least we hope it doesn't! ).
Now its possible that a well versus city water might be a negative, depending on the well. If the water is hard, acidic, stinks of sulfur, bad tasting you may need to soften, filter, or treat it. Wells do run dry or get contaminated too. City water may be treated with chemicals you don't want, but it might be better than a well. And vice versa of course.
I know what septic is and some high level pros and cons. But frankly I never owned a house with septic.
Question for you buyers: is septic an immediately turnoff factor? Or do you take a discount off the price since it's septic (by how much %)?
Our rental property has a septic tank. We lived in that house for years ourselves also. It’s not a big deal. We pump the tank every couple years ($250ish) and we did have a new drainfield put in while our first tenant was occupying (house was 40 years old at that point). It didn’t cost a crazy amount but it wasn’t cheap either and it was on an emergency basis. Wish I could remember the cost now, but it was under $2k, maybe $2500 at the most. We were advised not to do anything special to maintain it like putting enzymes down the toilet or whatever. The only real downside was that you can’t have a garbage disposal (maybe you can but it’s supposed to be a certain kind?). We have lived in some other rentals with septic and none had a disposal but also none had any special treatment needed and we had no sewer bill which was nice. It can get clogged just as fast as a city line if you put excessive paper or stuff that doesn’t belong in it.
grease, or other solids don't damage the leach field. Pretty simple. The water filtered by the leach field ends up back in the local soil instead of getting chemically processed in a sewage plant too.
I forgot about not dumping grease. That’s true and can be a downside but technically it shouldn’t be done in a city sewer system, either.
I do like not sending it all back to one nasty water treatment plant.
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