Septic Tanks - Deal Breaker in West Florida?

[Paoola Sefair]

Good morning!

Looking for guidance regarding septic tanks:

1- for those familiar with Tampa Bay area, are septic tanks common / expected in the Holiday, Port Richey, New Port Richey area?

2- based on the location above, do septic tanks impact the resell value?

3- i've never dealt with septic tanks, what are the pros / cons of having one in a rental unit?

Thank you in advance for sharing your wisdom with me!

[Clint Galliano]

I don’t have knowledge of the specific area, but here is Southern Louisiana, almost all unincorporated areas below I-10 have to install sewerage treatment plants based on the maximum estimated per-person, per-day water usage. That determines the size of the unit. Residential units are fairly cheap here, $2k-$3k, but when you start getting into multi-family, it can be downright expensive.

When building a 20 unit RV Park, it cost over $40,000 to put in enough capacity to cover what we were required to have. So that is the equivalent of a 20 unit multi-family.

If you have the ability to tie in to municipal sewerage, go for it.

Also, as a new buyer, you may be required to upgrade to a STP even though it is currently utilizing a septic tank.