permitting for septic & water

[John Harvey]

I came across a group of vacant building lots for sale in a 1960’s subdivision. About 1/3 of the lots are built on and I would guess most of the houses are 20-30 years old. Of the vacant lots, the largest lot is over 1 ½ acres and is flat & wooded. The lots are selling for roughly $5k each. This subdivision is in the county and all of the lots would need to have private water and sewer, and none of them are currently permitted for this.

I understand that the property is selling for such a reduced rate due to the areas poor soil drainage (I live in an area that is predominately clay) and the expense associated with installing a more expensive and engineered septic system. The seller has provided a study by a soil scientist stating that “some of the lots would be potentially suitable for a drip sub-surface septic systemâ€. I contacted this individual, and asked a bunch of questions on this and I understand that this process would take between $6-8k to evaluate and design a system for permitting – this cost would not include the actual septic system.

Even with the expense associated with septic and water permitting, I feel this is a good opportunity to either buy/permit/sell or develop as a sfr or simply buy and hold the lot. Does anyone have any thoughts on the expense or process associated with having a vacant lot permitted for water & septic?