You won't regret getting started (except for that time when your head has been stuck under the sink for 2 hours and you can't get the $*#% pipes to stay together without leaking and have driven to Home Depot 3 times but can't bear hiring a plumber for something so small and your roommate has a hot friend over and when you look over towards her, nasty drain water drips in your ear and you bang your head on the bottom of the sink).

I got some clarification from the realtor.He says:Option 1 best case scenario new concrete septic take in same location $3500-$5kOption 2 (likely if tank has not been updated) new septic tank and drain field $12-$14kOption 3 (generally not required in this area but possible) New "ATT" system and tank, field $20-$25kHe is meeting the county sanitary guy on Monday to review information they have on file. 

The oil tank was above ground in the basement, cost me $800 total(permit, removal, oil drained from tank). 

He would also make sure that the drain tile was not clogged. 

You might also suggest that the daughters make sure the water is shut off inside the home and that the pipes are drained, and the toilets, etc. are "winterized" in case things drag on into the cold weather.My $0.02...David J Dachtera

Digging/repairing a cracked drain line is a few thousand, depending where and whats involved.

., but for average everyday SFR rentals, showings are a major drain on time.

There are no issues with using a property manager but I would recommend having a read through some of the material on this forum, study your market for a few months if you haven't already done so and go from there.I only say this because you seem eager and it would be a shame to see your hard earned savings go down the drain.

If I drain the IRA account for a repair or improvement what are my options?

Thankfully this is only #3 after a dozen years and dozens of units, but it's still draining!