What do you know about grinder pumps?

[John Clark]

We are under contract on 3 lots and the city told us that the sewer is very shallow in this neighborhood and since the lots drop about 8' from the street our options are either build up or install grinder pumps on all three lots. Two of the lots will be rental units and the third will be my personal house. I've never had to deal with pumps before, are they a long term maintenance issue? And do they need replaced often? Seems like in the long term it may be cheaper to build up but I'd like to explore all of my options.