All Forum Posts by: Andrew Varney

They've said they would if something was wrong, but it's just too much water for the system to handle. That's when I brought in the 2nd/3rd opinion and they agreed. They didn't see anything wrong with the field or tank, just too much water to process. They said it can process ~300 G a day (for 9K a month), but was getting more than 500 G a day. They said when it was saturated like that, the field itself can drain out onto into the ground as it's overloaded. By all accounts, sounds like we just have to get usage down. :/

Originally posted by @Marc Desrosiers:

@Andrew Varney

Seems like the leaching field wasn’t designed right. Water table is too high maybe. A 1500 gallon tank should be plenty for 4 bedrooms. So should 1300 so I’m questioning why it was upgraded when it was installed. Maybe the perc test failed and they snuck it through. In Rhode Island a 4 bedroom septic tank is 1250 gallons for reference.

I’d contact who installed/designed the system a year ago. They should be responsible for any defects in design or installation. 

Have you had a flow test done at the d-box?

And like previously said definitely change all the fixtures to low flow though. Monthly savings. Or minimum check for leaky toilets.

Thanks for the tip Marc.

This is my first ever property with a Septic / Drain Field, so I'm a little ignorant on some of the details. When you say flow test at the D-box, are you asking about the water input into the property? It's on a well, and I did have a meter installed to check on the usage and that's where I got the ~15K Gal of usage a month at this point. If that isn't what your asking, can you dumb it down to 099 for me? :-)

I have had the original company out as they warranty their work, plus two others. All of them say it's installed fine, but due to the layout of the property + a 10 foot easement by the gov't, it couldn't be made any bigger. I'm told it was actually an upgrade from what was there before. (I believe) They said the drain field had been 300 sqft and is now 320 sqft after they installed the system last year, hopefully I have the nomenclature right. With the elevation and slope of the land, my understanding is this is the only place it can be.

And yea, it's a 4/2 duplex - 2/1 each side. Four adults and three kids total.

Thanks again for clarification!

Hey BP,

I bought a property last year and it had a brand new septic tank and drain field installed. The tank was increased from 1300 - 1500 gallons, and it was inspected and got a clean bill of health. Fast forward 12 months, and the drain field is leaking into the drive way. Then, a couple of days later, it actually starts backing up into the house and I had to have it emergency pumped.

The back up seems to be that the tank filter was clogged by grease / fat. I've asked the tenants to please dispose of grease/fat/food in the trash vs. the drains (there is no disposal installed). I hope that's resolved.

However, the drain field still seems to be leaking into the yard. I've had three companies come out and all of them say the tank and the drain field are working properly, but the drain field isn't big enough. The field is 320 sq/ft and is estimated to process ~9K Gals of water a month, but the property is using ~15K Gals a month. So the drain field can't process it fast enough and causes the leak. The property has an easement, so the drain field can't be increased to process more, it's maxed out. The companies said that the field should have 4-5 people max living in the property, but there are currently 7 (4 adults, 3 kids) between the two units. It seems reducing the water usage is the only thing we can do to resolve the issue. Any other tips?

1) These tenants have been living in the property for three - four years respectively, and no one new is living there. The water usage has never been a problem before this year.

2) There are washing machines, but they don't drain into the septic, they drain into a storm drain (probably not a good thing either, but was like that when I bought it, I'll deal with this later).

3) The tenants swear there aren't any leaks, running toilets, excessive showers, etc.

I'm thinking the only thing I can do now is replace all toilets, faucets, showerheads, etc. with 'low flow' alternatives to reduce the water usage, and then ask the side with two adults and two kids to move out (or evict - they are overdue on rent now) and replace them with less people.

so, for the BPers,

1) Any tips on water usage?

2) If there is a health restraint of the number of people that can live in the house, can you use that for screening purposes (I don't discriminate against families with kids, but can I set a limit of only two people in the unit)?

3) Any drain field related solutions I may not be asking about to the companies I'm working with?

Thanks in advance!

Andrew V.

Most high level politicians are wealthy, and/or rely on the wealthy sponsoring them to stay in power. These wealthy people tend to own land/property as well. They won't do this, even if there is a contingent that wants to, it would go no where.

Remember, in the US, it's YOUR gov't, if you hear a politician with an idea like this, don't vote for them and advocate against them.

If the deal hits your numbers and is good, I'd be reluctant to walk away. There are other options you have to solve the problem, such as renegotiating, making a cash for keys agreement with the tenant yourself (and possibly negotiate that $ to the seller), or take over and go through the eviction process normally.

If you're going to own/manage property, you're going to face an eviction eventually. They aren't pleasant, but they aren't the worst thing in the world either. How hard is it to find a property in your area which hits your numbers/criteria? I find one every couple of months in my area, but they aren't always available. I'd rather deal with this headache and get my next property than potentially wait 3-4 more months looking in my target area.

Either way, goodluck!

ASV

(For me) Avoid properties with wells. I've had nothing but problem after problem after problem with a well system. The fix for one problem (i.e. tannin) creates an entirely new pro lem (i.e. chlorine injectors), etc.

I'll still buy a property with a well, but I'll greatly increase my capex and monthly expense calculations before I count cash flow.

@Kenneth Brown-Lovelace

I think it's a little light, too. I aim for $150 cash flow, but that is after taking management fees (which you did) and 6% each (18% total) for maintenance, capEx, and vacancy for savings. So, I'd take another $198 a month in expenses at $1100 a month in rent, which means it'd actually be cash flow negative for me.

I'm a little conservative in my calculations, but it's worked as I've ran into a lot of little expenses and capex expenses early

Just my movie thoughts!

ASV

Investment Info:

Single Family, Buy-and-Hold

Purchase price: $270,000 (refinanced @ $206,000
Cash invested: ~$72,000

Rent: $1975

Expenses: ~$1757 (Conservative with PITI, Repairs, Maintenance,& Vacancy)

CF: %218

My wife and I moved from Seattle, WA to Sarasota, FL in 2018. One of the reasons we chose Sarasota was the potential to buy rentals. As we were looking for our residence, we underwrote everything as if it were a rental, knowing that in 1-2 years, we'd move into something else and turn this into a rental property. Late 2019, we bought a duplex in a nearby neighborhood as a pure investment, while we lived in this one and worked to improve it. In June 2020, we bought a new personal residence and finished the move a couple of weeks ago. I finished cleaning the first property and found a tenant.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

Sarasota is a hot market with great rents and appreciation (and awesome beaches :-) )

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

We found this remotely while in Seattle. We found a local realtor with great reviews and metrics and had an acquaintance go tour properties with her and send pictures and videos of the properties. We found multiple properties where the numbers worked, but chose this one as it was a little more move in ready for us as we came across country with a 3 mos old.

How did you finance this deal?

Conventional 30yr Mortgage with 10% down.When the rates dropped in 2019, we paid another ~7% and refinanced to drop PMI and get a better rate, the remaining ~3% to drop PMI came from appreciation.

How did you add value to the deal?

It was turnkey, but we did some quality of life updates and repairs while we lived there.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Realtor in Sarasota area: Courtney Tarantino

@Michael Frattallone

Is it purely investment, or will you be moving into one unit? I assume investment based on the 25% requirement.

If you can love in one side, you may be able to get a lower down payment through HFA or other programs.

Without a track record (not sure of your history), it may not be approved, but a portfolio lender can make and offer any terms they want and don't necessarily need 25%, but the rates will most likely be higher.

You may also look into bridge loans to get you the down payment (family? HELOC? Credit card cash advance [which I don't recommend]).

Last, maybe look for an equity partner to join you on the deal?

Good luck!

I closed on a duplex in North Port @ 4.125% with lender credit in Oct 2019.Was seeing similar rates when I was kicking the tires on something in March/April 2020. I'll DM you the mortgage broker I used.