Septic Tank or Sewer

[Heshel Mangel]

Any investors and/or contractors have suggestions or knowledge on how to approach a home with a septic tank. 

Stay away, factor in extra maintenance costs, or no biggie?

[Brandon Sturgill]

@Heshel Mangel if you've inspected, talked to the local health department, and have a history of construction or pumping you're good...in theory. Septic is fine, but it's more complex than sewer in that there are lots of varieties of systems, EPA requirements, maintenance requirements, etc. 

Is the system leach...aerator?...something else?...have you talked to the local health department?

[Heshel Mangel]

@Brandon Sturgill

I know nothing of construction and haven't talked to any health departments. This was very preliminary, any time I'm analyzing a property, if I saw it had Septic, I walked away. Figured, I'd shoot on hear to see if anyone has any tips for how to deal. 

[Charlie MacPherson]

@Heshel Mangel I'd start by educating yourself on your state and local laws.

The great thing about septic systems is that there's no sewer bill.  The bad part is that they eventually fail.

In my neck of the woods, we budget $35,000 for a new system but hope for $20,000 - $25,000.

The driving factor is how well the soil drains.  If it doesn't drain well, they have to truck in a bunch of soil and build a mounded system - the kind that looks like the lawn is pregnant.

The worst case scenario is when you're too close to a stream or pond.  The town might not allow a leaching field at all and make you install a tight tank.  In my estimation, that decreases the value of a property substantially - at least 20%.

[Jeff Brower]

If looking at SFR's for rentals, I stay away from septic. The bill for sewer is usually placed on the tenant in an SFR, so there is nothing to gain from having septic as a landlord besides a possible big bill.

[Jason G.]

Originally posted by @Heshel Mangel:

Any investors and/or contractors have suggestions or knowledge on how to approach a home with a septic tank. 

Stay away, factor in extra maintenance costs, or no biggie?

 If you do purchase a property with a septic tank, you can have it inspected and pumped so you have a baseline that it is functioning correctly if the seller cannot give you any history on it.  The PM or you (if self managed) will need inform tenants that they cannot flush certain products down the toilet and if the system fails it can cost a lot of money, but if properly maintained risk should be minimal.  

[Amy A.]

For flips, if it's an old system (you can find out at the town office or maybe online - some states publish engineered plans online) and you're buying at auction so can't inspect, assume it needs to be replaced and set your price accordingly. 

If it's a property you want to flip and you can get it inspected, definitely have it done by somebody who will put a camera down it and into the leach field.  

As for rentals, I have a building on a septic system and it's a pain.  Tenants plug it up all the time.  Since it's shared, I can't pinpoint who it was who flushed the cat litter/paper towels/ big wads of Charmin, etc.  Mine has a filter to protect the leach field, which gets clogged by coffee grounds and especially cat litter. 

Yes, the clogs are easy to fix yourself, but very gross.  There better be great cash flow to make it worth it!  You really don't want to know that your tenant had corn for dinner...

[Matt M.]

@Heshel Mangel

I’d stay away. The cost to replace is to much if it ever goes bad.

[Matthew Paul]

To me septic tanks are no big deal . All of my rentals have them  ( 7 total )  . Never had a problem .  I am in sandy soil .  

[Mark Fries]

@Matthew Paul Agreed, I have tons of them with no issues....even the 40 year old systems still work...

[Jeff Mauerman]

@Heshel Mangel, My primary residence is on septic, and it works fine for my family, but I would shy away from a rental property with a septic system. Septic is a balanced biological ecosystem which relies on a healthy population of bacteria, and it is very easy to mess that up. If your tenants are flushing baby wipes, feminine products, chlorine, lye-based drain cleaners, or anything else that can mess up the system’s biology, it can cost you. If your drain field fails, it can be a very costly repair (as referenced in prior posts). If you live in a high dollar market, it might be worth it, but that is something you would need to figure out the economics of.

[Matthew Paul]

@Jeff Mauerman  I like what you said "Septic is a balanced biological ecosystem which relies on a healthy population of bacteria, and it is very easy to mess that up"

I never thought of my septic tank like that .  I always considered it to be 1000 gallons of $hit and pee . 

[Sharon Rosendahl]

I prefer sewer although it sort of is a pay monthly or pay all at once situation. Tenants are often not as careful as a homeowner in their love and care of their septic. In some areas you will not have the option to replace or even make much repairs to a septic. My Grandma had a house on a quarter acre that was grandfathered into allowing septic. The city ran sewer through there but didn't require you hook up. Eventually, all those houses will have to since they won't issue permits for new drain fields. I have a couple of rural houses. The septic was pumped and inspected at purchase. They are old gravity fed ones on large lots. Assuming no major abuse, they will live for quite a while with pumping probably once every year or two at the cost of about $300 each. We would rather pump too often since tenants can be tough. On our home system we only pump every few years since we are careful what we do.  

[Kyler J Sloan]

I have only ever dealt with septic tanks, and think that there is a lot of exaggeration taking place here.