LT Talks RE: Buying a property with Septic and Well? What to consider.

[@ElevateRealEstateLisaTheresa]

🤔Thinking about Real Estate in Kingston ON? Let Me help! 📱 Call or Text: 613-888-9761 📨 Email: [e-mail] 📅 Appointment zoom or call: bit.ly/3nj103xl

[@paoemantega8793]

Excellent presentation, thankyou for sharing

[@SteveLaudenschlager]

Good work covering the basics for a home buyer. I like that you kept it simple and to the point.

[@ElevateRealEstateLisaTheresa]

Glad it was helpful!

[@timthomas8153]

we just purchased a Rural Home with No conditions. A well and sceptic. This Video answered all my questions. So I subscribed. Thanks

[@ElevateRealEstateLisaTheresa]

Thank you so much for subscribing and more importantly for commenting to let me know that you found the information given helpful. In these market conditions you often leave yourself unprotected but at least you can dive in with your eyes wide open.

[@kellyobrien6356]

This is a very helpful video! Thanks

[@ElevateRealEstateLisaTheresa]

Glad it was helpful! Thank you for watching.

[@craigwillson5974]

Regarding Septic Inspections, in my opinion, it's really a good idea to get the Septic System checked prior to putting the house on the market, which is known as a pre-sale inspection. However, very few realtors recommend pre-sale Septic Inspections to their clients, because they just want the listing. Nevertheless, if you're trying to sell a house that's more than 10 or 15 years old, I suggest you have your Septic System Inspected before you market the property, because you could lose a buyer if the system has problems. To be clear, a proper Septic Inspection does not require pumping out the Septic Tank, and in fact, the tank needs to be full, or operating at it's normal liquid level for an inspection. Let the Septic Professionals decide if the tank needs to be pumped out, because very often, it simply isn't necessary at the time of inspection. Again, in my state of New Hampshire, the average homeowner is supposed to pump out their Septic Tank every 2 to 3 years depending on the size of the tank, and the number of people living in the house. In some cases, it might be every 5 years if the home is only used seasonally or if only 1 or 2 people are using the Septic System. Again, what's usually recommended or typical can change depending on the situation, and every Septic Inspection is different, because every Septic System is different in terms of daily use and operation. That's why realtors should stay out of it, and let the Septic Professionals make recommendations or suggestions to the buyer or seller in terms of what is needed for proper care and maintenance of their system. By the way, a thorough and complete Septic Inspection should take at least an hour, and can cost between $250 and $750 depending on the depth of the Septic Tank, and how easily the covers on the tank can be accessed, which is determined by depth. In other words, deep tanks and deep Leaching Fields are harder to inspect, and cost more money to dig, especially if a machine or heavy equipment is required. Also, the use of a camera is typically not included in a basic inspection, and could cost extra money, if it's necessary, which isn't always the case. A dye test is usually extra, because typically it isn't necessary either, but can be useful or beneficial depending on the situation. Keep in mind, every town, city, county, and state is different, which is why you need a local professional, who knows the rules and regulations in your area... not a realtor!

[@craigwillson5974]

@@ElevateRealEstateLisaTheresa I assume you've figured out I'm a Septic Inspector and I'm not a fan of realtors... sad but true. Unfortunately, the way the housing market is today, people are getting into bidding wars for houses, and aren't doing inspections... at all! I've been in the septic business for about 20 years, and I specialize in inspections. As a result, I can't imagine anyone buying a house that's 20, 30, 40, or even 50 years old, without doing inspections of any kind. It's crazy, and I've never seen this before, but unfortunately buyer's are so desperate, they've given up on putting contingencies in the Purchase and Sale Aggreements, which is absolutely nuts! By the way, I blame realtors for this trend, which is new, and has nothing to do with Covid 19 or the Coronavirus Pandemic.

[@craigwillson5974]

@@ElevateRealEstateLisaTheresa Good Wednesday Afternoon Lisa, I just wanted to apologize for painting you with the same broad brush as the realtors I've had to deal with in New Hampshire for the past 20 years. To be fair, I know some realtors are honest and ethical, but in my experience, it's not the majority of them. At least not down here in New Hampshire, which is unfortunate, because it makes my job more difficult. As you can imagine, I typically get called after the buyer(s) already signed a P&S and only have 10 to 14 days to complete their inspections. As a result, I'm scheduling Septic System Inspection Appointments with only 2 or 3 days advance notice... maybe 4 or 5 if I'm lucky. This makes it virtually impossible to get any documentation, because I'm relying on the realtor(s) to get all the paperwork, which most refuse to do. In my state, it can take a seversl business days to track down a copy of a State Approved Septic System Design, which is commonly referred to as a Septic Plan. In any case, without a plan I have no idea how many bedrooms or more specifically the Gallons Per Day, the system was designed for. I also don't know if it's a properly permitted or legal installation without any documentation. Again, in my state, every Residential Sub-surface Wastewater Disposal System must be approved by the NH Department of Environmental Services or NHDES. That paper trail is absolutely essential for the transfer of ownership, and it's really important for the buyer to have for their records. Unfortunately, realtors down here don't explain this to their clients, nor do they take any action to get this documentation so paperwork is available at the time of inspection. I'm always telling my customer's that they'll have to go to Town Hall themselves, to find out what's on file, or contact NHDES to see if any documentation is archived with the state. Obviously, this takes time, and if the house is really old, may not even exist, but an archive search is the only way to find out. By the way, I don't think the buyer(s) should have to do this, but I can't do it, because I don't have the time, and I'm not getting paid to do it. My standard fee for a Septic Inspection is 300 bucks, which does not include me searching for any documentation. I charge for the on-site visit, which is the actual inspection, and for the time it takes me to generate the report, but that's it. Maybe up there in Ontario Canada it's different, but the lack of cooperation I get from realtors down here is mind boggling, and it just makes my job harder than it has to be, which is why I don't like most realtors. I'm sorry about that, because you seem like a good one.

[@paulsosa1872]

I'm looking into purchasing a house with a septic system the seller said to never disconnect the power from the service provider. Because of the type or age of system I have they wouldn't reconnect power. Any info on how, why or what? Thanks

[@craigwillson5974]

@@paulsosa1872 To be clear, I live and work in the State of New Hampshire, and the only types of Septic Systems we have here that require power are Pump-up Systems, and systems with Aeration Treatment Units (ATU) or Aerobic Bacterial Generators (ABG). Obviously, any system with a Effluent Pump or an Air Pump needs electricity to function. I suggest you hire a Licensed Septic Professional in your area to take a look at the situation, because presumably, they'll know what it is, and how it works. Again, I think Septic System Inspections are the way to go, and it's a huge risk to purchase a home without having the Septic System evaluated by a local professional, who knows the rules and regulations in your county or state.

[@beachdweller3378]

@@craigwillson5974 Right on. Every house we looked at before we purchased only about 30% of sellers attached a disclosure agreement( which never disclosed much and none had done any inspections prior to sale even though many of the homes had not had significant work on them probably in 20 plus years based on conditions of roof, hvac, and interiors. All the risk is on the buyer and the sellers in this sellers market have very little standards to go by such as furnishing inspection reports even an appraisal before sale, its all on the buyer, its all to pump up prices and yes real estate agents surely had a big part in this.

[@robertbatts]

I 100% had our well and septic systems inspected before we purchased our house. I can't imagine someone would just take the seller's word.

[@ElevateRealEstateLisaTheresa]

I very much wish that buyers were able to have this condition in their offers, but currently, if they want to secure a home, they are having to take risks and buy a home without being able to inspect the well and septic. I hope that someday very soon the market will shift to being more balance and we can again have these very important conditions in our offers.

[@nehpetty7099]

Me too. Closing is next month 😊

[@GeeMak999]

Thank you I just bought a property in Plaistow NH with deep well water and septic system. I am gathering all info and appreciate your effort

[@ElevateRealEstateLisaTheresa]

Glad this helped you. I don’t know if your market is the same as ours here but, any bit of information helps when you can’t do the proper and recommended due diligence and hire professionals.

[@kabish0603]

In escrow with a house with a well for just irrigation. They ran the well test for 4hrs and it was 30gal a minute the entire 4 hours they tested it. Think we have an ocean under our house lol

[@ElevateRealEstateLisaTheresa]

Wow!! That is a lot of water. Good for you.

[@vera747]

SUBBED. What happens if electricity stops working, is there a manual pump that can be purchased to access the water?

[@ElevateRealEstateLisaTheresa]

Generally people with wells will opt to have a back up generator so that they will have water should the power go out. I am sure there must be manual pumps that could be used, but that is beyond my knowledge base. I am going to look into it though because now I am curious.

[@michaelmartin2323]

Just bought a house with well and septic. The market today doesn’t allow the time for testing house went on market on Friday and sold to us Monday morning. We wanted a rural living situation so not much time to do all of what she’s mentioning

[@ElevateRealEstateLisaTheresa]

This is exactly why I wanted to talk about these things. In our seller's market, buyers are not afforded the "luxury" of being able to test the well and septic. Many listing agents will have the well and septic tested prior to listing and provide the results of those test but many do not, leaving buyers in the dark on VERY important aspects of the home such as water supply. Always, if at all possible, hire professionals to do the appropriate testing but the reality is, in this market, if you want the house, you very often can't have that (or any) condition in the offer.

[@michaelmartin2323]

@@ElevateRealEstateLisaTheresa thanks great video it’s crazy right now. To your point we wanted the house, we could have asked and the offer would have been pushed aside. We sold our current home Monday and those asking for inspection taken off the list right away. I feel bad for first time home buyers they have no shot of getting a home…thanks for the video

[@jjoutback]

Low water pressure

[@slowmo0925]

We bought burnt house with well and septic.We have paperwork for both.Should we just asking for bulding permit or septic needs to be inspected first.

[@ElevateRealEstateLisaTheresa]

The house has burnt down? I have lots of questions before I can give you any kind of answer on this one. How old are the septic and well?

[@slowmo0925]

@@ElevateRealEstateLisaTheresa...septic is from 91,well is from 96.House was burnt 2012.

[@SsDiBoi]

Great vid very informative) this is the only video so far that I’ve found talking about septic and well ) trying to figure out if I’m thinking the right way cause logically keep your well away from you septic🤔 just how far away

[@ElevateRealEstateLisaTheresa]

The building code for each jurisdiction will tell you how far away each needs to be from the other.

[@FabianAcebal]

Very informative video. Thank you.

[@britfrancis4967]

Thank you!!!

[@ElevateRealEstateLisaTheresa]

You're welcome! Glad you found it useful.

[@earthangel8875]

Thank you

[@tamaradukes8560]

Very informative

[@ElevateRealEstateLisaTheresa]

Glad it was helpful!

[@craigwillson5974]

I don't know what state this realtor is living and working in, but in my state of New Hampshire, drilled wells can be up to a 1000 feet deep, and 500 feet is common. Typically, 3 to 5 Gallons Per Minute of flow is acceptable for the average household... especially for drilled wells. Dug Wells and Point Wells are different, because their not as deep, and require a quicker recovery time, which is determined by the flow rate. In any case, a realtor shouldn't be involved or get involved with water testing or well inspection anyway. In my state, a home buyer or home seller, should hire a well company to do a well inspection, but a Licensed Home Inspector could take water samples to a lab, providing he or she followed the proper procedures and documentation for the chain of custody. It's more involved than people realize, which is why it can be expensive to do both Water Testing and Well Inspection. A thorough and complete Well Inspection with water samples being taken to a lab, could easily be 500 dollars or more, depending on how much testing is done. To be clear, not every homeowner or home buyer wants to pay for every possible type of water test, because it's expensive. However, testing for the most common contaminates is typical, and should be done every 3 to 5 years, because water chemistry changes, and as a result, the water in a well can change over time. Especially Dug Wells, which are the most vulnerable to contamination from the surface.

[@cursedrr8647]

Wow do they do radiation testing for those depths?

[@marilynnscorner345]

what if its new construction

[@ElevateRealEstateLisaTheresa]

I can do a video on this for new construction since I have just built a house and gone through this myself. Great idea.

[@YourAgentJC]

Great video! THANK YOU! Very helpful!🙏🏼

[@ElevateRealEstateLisaTheresa]

Glad it was helpful! Thank you for taking the time to comment as well. It is good to know that the videos are helpful to some.

[@nohopeequalsnofear3242]

Great video....

[@mberge1]

Hi, it sounds like you are talking about canada? I am looking at houses in Northern New Jersey in the rural areas a lot of these houses are on well and septic. Some towns do not even have well or septic records. I guess I would have to hire a well and septic contractor to do a well and septic inspection just like I hire a home inspector to do a home inspection and underground oil tank sweep?

[@ElevateRealEstateLisaTheresa]

You are right I am in Canada but regardless I would always advise hiring a professional to do well test and septic inspections! This video was done as information for those people who may not have the opportunity to do hire the needed professionals since the current market in our area is crazy and often buyers need to offer unconditionally without the opportunity to call in the professionals.

[@anirudh0000]

great info, looking at a cottage purchase and this knowledge is invaluable!!!

[@ElevateRealEstateLisaTheresa]

Very happy that this was helpful. Did you find your cottage to purchase?

[@SepticSystem]

Thank You for sharing this!!!!! Your a great realtor

[@ElevateRealEstateLisaTheresa]

Thank you!

[@TheHealerInsideOfYou]

Thank you, very helpful.

[@ElevateRealEstateLisaTheresa]

Very glad you found it helpful. Thanks for taking the time to comment.

[@hansteam]

This was helpful. Thank you!

[@ElevateRealEstateLisaTheresa]

I am so happy that you found the information helpful. Of course I always absolutely advise professional involvement but sometimes in this crazy market there is not that opportunity.

[@Michael-kx7im]

Friend well not producing enough water Good deal on the house though.

[@ElevateRealEstateLisaTheresa]

That is often the case. A low producing well or a well with poor water quality can be a big hurdle to overcome.

[@8u2b]

Awesome information!!

[@craigwillson5974]

I don't know what state or country this realtor is working in, but in my state of New Hampshire, water testing is done by a lab and is not free. Typically, water samples are taken by the Home Inspector or a Well Company will take water samples while conducting a Well Inspection, and then issue a report that includes water quality. This usually costs 500 dollars or more, depending on how extensive the water test is, because you can test water for all kinds of contaminants. To be clear, water samples are not taken by you or your realtor, because of protocol and chain of custody concerns.Regarding Septic System Inspection, it does not and should not include pumping out the tank, a Septic System Inspection should be done with the tank full, and in it's natural state. Anyone who suggest otherwise, is simply trying to get you to pay for an unnecessary service. Think about it, why should a buyer pay to pump out a Septic Tank on house they haven't even purchased yet.... makes no sense. Besides, very often a Septic Inspector will conduct the inspection and tell the buyer the tank doesn't need pumping for another year or two. To be clear, a thorough and complete inspection of a Septic System takes an hour or two, and can cost between 300 and 500 dollars, or even more in the winter... frozen ground makes winter inspections very challenging. In other words, additional charges for jackhammering through frost are to be expected. Also, if a camera is needed to scope the lines, that usually cost extra money as well. The bottom line is this, a buyer could easily spend a thousand dollars on a Well Inspection and Septic System Inspection depending on how extensive they want to get. I've been in the Septic and Sewer Industry for over 20 years, and have conducted thousands of inspections for both Home Buyers and Home Sellers, but to be fair, different states have different rules and regulations. As a result, they might do things differently.

[@ElevateRealEstateLisaTheresa]

Hi again Craig. I see you just edited this comment from a number of months ago and I try to respond to all comments. I am not sure what you edited, however, I just wanted to clarify that indeed, in Ontario, the health units will do bacteria testing for FREE. This is something that homeowners and realtors do on a regular basis. As a realtor, when I list a home, I ensure that well testing including flow and recovery rate has been done by a professional prior to listing and this would include water quality testing for contaminants, iron, sulfur, sodium etc. . I would always do the bacteriological testing in addition through the health unit (I also do this for every buyer). The same would apply for hiring a professional to pump the septic and do a septic inspection (yes these are separate things here as well). These documents would be provided to any potential buyer. The reason that this video was created was to inform those people who increasingly don't have the option to include a condition of well and septic inspection and one has not been done by the listing agent. Our current market conditions in Kingston and surrounding areas make it such that almost every listing has multiple offers and a completely unconditional offer wins the day. This is risky business and one that many buyers are forced to take. This video is simply to inform and let them know what things to keep in mind, in this area, if they find themselves in this situation.

[@craigwillson5974]

@@ElevateRealEstateLisaTheresa Good Morning Lisa, obviously things are done differently in Canada, but I would suggest that you make that clear in your video. Regarding the craziness of the housing market, trust me, in New Hampshire buyers have been overpaying for houses by 40, 50, 60, thousand dollars or more, and in the interest of getting their offer accepted, are forgoing inspections. It's been like this for 2 years now... pretty much since the Covid 19 Global Pandemic started. In any case, it's ridiculous to see what's happening, and very unfortunate for me as a Licensed Septic System Evaluator... my business has been "going down the drain" for two years now. In fact, I know several Home Inspectors, Chimney Inspectors, and Mold & Mildew Remediation Guys that are experiencing the same thing. One of my very good buddies, who's been in business for over 20 years, just decided to retire last fall. He said it simply wasn't worth it anymore, and at 62 year's of age, gave up his business... didn't sell it, just shut the doors. I'm almost 60 myself, and I recently had a stroke, which I believe is in large part due to financial stress or pressure. As a result, I might not be in business much longer either. However, I feel really bad for young couples, especially the ones with children, who are buying houses in this market, because they have no equity in the property, and are essentially upside down right out of the gate, which is a recipe for disaster. First time home buyers are not just overpaying, but playing " Russian Roulette" with things like Septic Systems and Wells or drinking water, and if they have a problem, they can't afford to fix it. It's a tragedy, and I fear it's going to come back to haunt these people... Home Inspection, Septic Inspections, Well Inspection and Water Testing are absolutely vital, and any buyer that doesn't do them before purchasing a home is monumentally stupid!

[@SeanandLisaBuildaHome]

@@craigwillson5974 I will go back and add a clip to the front of the video to make clear the purpose (and limitations) of the video and that it is for these situations only and that I would always advise the use of professionals. I do say this in the video but it may be further in than many people are watching. Houses here are getting $50,000, $100,000, and even $200,000 over asking with no conditions. Emotions come into play with these very discouraged buyers and reason often goes out the windows. It is incredibly risky without question. I know that the septic inspectors, building inspectors, well testers are getting business either from sellers prior to listing OR buyers AFTER they have already purchased the home and want a good idea of what they have just purchased. It is not business as usual for sure!!

[@nohopeequalsnofear3242]

I think I'm just going to live in the city...and avoid this