Need your help-well, septic questions

nicoleleighs4 · #1 02/08/10, 08:45 AM

Hi everyone,
I need some advice on living without well and septic.We live in Wisconsin. We are looking to buy a house that sits on some land and has been restored. It has a well and septic, but we are not sure of thier working order. I know we have to have a inspector come out. We just don't have the money right now, so it's going to be a few months. If worst comes to worst we need to know if it's possible to live with out well and septic somewhat comfortably and how? and yes, we have four kids. Any advice would be greatly appriciated!
Thanks..Nicole

Beeman · #2 02/08/10, 09:03 AM

I would possibly push the sellers to have everything inspected. Does the well work? In other words is there running water in the house? Is there definetly a septic? I would have the seller show you where it is or locate it yourself and open it up and look at it.
No well and no septic in a house not set up for it would not be comfortable especially with kids.

nicoleleighs4 · #3 02/08/10, 09:07 AM

Thanks for your thoughts. It is a great deal in all. We have looked into a composting toilet. Trying to keep our options open..

**Cabin Fever** · #4 02/08/10, 09:11 AM

I believe that it is law in Wisconsin that a house cannot be sold without a conforming septic system and well.

And, if you're looking to get a loan, I doubt if the bank would give you a mortgage without a conforming sewer and water system.

fishhead · #5 02/08/10, 09:13 AM

No water and no indoor toilet. Probably not comfortable but doable. Then in the spring you could always build an outhouse.

The well should be easy to check. Just have the seller get it turned back on.

Some people use sawdust toilets with good results.

nicoleleighs4 · #6 02/08/10, 09:19 AM

Their is a septic and a well, the water pumps. That is all we know. We will have this inspected. But if issues occur and we must replace things it will be a few months before we are financially able to do so. We are looking for temp. alternatives.

nicoleleighs4 · #7 02/08/10, 09:20 AM

I'll check into the sawdust toilets. thanks..

nicoleleighs4 · #8 02/08/10, 09:23 AM

Their are so many innovative people on this site, we figure we will get some good advice.

rambler · #9 02/08/10, 09:47 AM

Here in Minnesota, there in 9 month period to get your septic up to code when properties change hands. Can't do effective dirt digging in the middle of winter! I'd think your state would be similar - if the septic works at all, you'd have a few months to get things up to code. They also have loan programs & such to assist you here in MN. Again I'd assume similar in your state.

Well - you'd be dealing with bottled water, find a place in town that sells cheap, refill your jugs. If it has a well, you have flushing & bathing water most likely then, issue would be drinking water. If the well don't work at all, boy it's hard for a family of 6 to deal with no water at all for several months. Was done all the time in the old days, but - that was then, things aren't set up that way any more.....

--->Paul

Michael W. Smith · #10 02/08/10, 09:47 AM

With the regulations of today, I would doubt they could sell / you could buy a house without running water and a septic tank.

Depending on your local area / cutoms it may be up to you to pay for the inspection - or the seller. If the seller is indeed interested in selling, them paying for the inspection shouldn't be much of a problem.

And if there is a problem, the problem will probably have to be fixed before the sell goes through.

As for the well, as long as the water is okay, it wouldn't be that much to get the pump in and water running again. I certainly wouldn't want to be in a place with 4 children and no running water!

As for the septic, there are other solutions outthere - composting toilet, sawdust toilet, etc. If there is a problem, you may be able to sweet talk the inspector into "looking the other way" as you will put in some kind of toilet. The graywater from the sink/bathtub/laundry can all be taken care of okay.

The dealbreaker for me would be if there is no good water available.

nicoleleighs4 · #11 02/08/10, 09:57 AM

thanks everyone..

Callieslamb · #12 02/08/10, 10:29 AM

Were people living in this house immediately before you? If not - do not drink the water until you know it is safe. What kind of deal is it if you have to drill a new well and put a septic in?

raymilosh · #13 02/08/10, 10:31 AM

I am wondering why you are worrying about the well and the septic in the first place. Is there an indication that that things are amiss? have you lived in a house with well and septic before? Are you under the impression that they are fickle/low quality/unreliable?

My guess is that you understand that with a well and septic, when it breaks, it's your responsibility to fix it if you want it to work again, so kudos for being a person who thinks about being prepared to handle failures ahead of time. I recommend against worrying about the well and septic just to give yourself something to worry about, though.

A well and a septic system are both things with parts that have a lifespan that depends on many factors including use history, materials, maintanance and some dumb luck.

In the mean time, you say the water is working, so you can put a check in that box. If water goes down the drain, well there's another check. There is too much to say about well and septics to go into in this post. I recommend you go online and learn about both systems, especially about how to treat a septic system....don't put grease or harsh chemicals or bleach down the drain. There are bacteria living in the septic tank that need to be kept healthy and happy. They break down the waste. If you poison them, waste builds up and eventually will permanently ruin the drainfield. Have the septic tank checked and pumped by professionals. Listen to their advice on how to treat your system.

Regarding being without water. Learn about installing a hand pump on your well and then do it. If that is done and you have some spare pump gaskets on hand, you will never be out of water, no matter what the situation is with electricity, pumps, wiring, pipes, weather, etc. Hauling water will also lead to conservation, as it is heavy stuff and it takes lots of energy to heat it.
I have a well and septic and I think I'm conservative with water. When the power is out, though, and I'm hauling water from the well, I bet my water useage drops 90 or 95%.

Wolf mom · #14 02/08/10, 11:11 AM

You must put in the contract: "offer contignent upon inspection and certification of well and septic". Your realtor should have told you that...Putting this in the contract puts the responsibility on the seller - and you then have the option of buying or not, depending upon the results of the inspection & certification.

Because the contract states "contingent upon" you then have the option of reducing the price so you can get things up to par yourself or having the seller fix any issues or rejecting the contract if they're really in bad shape.

dennis60 · #15 02/08/10, 03:09 PM

We have a well and septic tank. We have had many leeks in the old water line, so the water gets shut off untill the line is fixed. Thats when we haul water, usually from some friendly neighbors. We have a lot of 5 gallon jugs. Another way to get water is collecting it from a roof. We have big trash cans under the down spouts and will water the livestock with that. You have to keep the inside of the trash cans clean...a little bleach and scrubing will do.
Pouring a couple gallons of water down the toilet will flush it, and should go to the septic tank, another use for the collected water from the roof. ( that is the way cisterns work. They collect water from the roof when it rains or the snow melts off the roof in to big cement collectors. Then a pump is used to distribute it into the house or where ever). We treat our septic tank once a month with "RID-X".
By the way we finally replaced the old water line to the pump house. It is a lot of labor carrying in water for washing and cooking and drinking. There are just two of us here, but when your down, conservation is way UP!
Dennis

Wis Bang 2 · #16 02/08/10, 04:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nicoleleighs4

Hi everyone,
I need some advice on living without well and septic.We live in Wisconsin. We are looking to buy a house that sits on some land and has been restored. It has a well and septic, but we are not sure of thier working order. I know we have to have a inspector come out. We just don't have the money right now, so it's going to be a few months. If worst comes to worst we need to know if it's possible to live with out well and septic somewhat comfortably and how? and yes, we have four kids. Any advice would be greatly appriciated!
Thanks..Nicole

My mother just sold her home. The buyer's inspector found a problem w/ the septic system. Mon had to apply for the permit & have a new system installed in order for the property to transfer. That was the law! The septic designer [former county guy] and the system installer both waited until closing to be paid. The designer worked w/ the county health dept. guy to get the site approved for a new drainfield instead of a sand mound.;

Her well also came up w/ some bacteria and the local well guy had to add chlorine to the well and sanitize the whole water system. She had another test done and it passed.

She had to produce both the certification of the septic system from the county and the good well test results at the closing.

Hoop · #17 02/08/10, 06:24 PM

Technically, in Wisconsin, every home sold which is devoted to human occupancy, MUST have a FUNCTIONING septic system. It doesn't necessarily mean it has to be current code. A dry well that is FUNCTIONING will pass. At least in some counties.

I happen to think that in this day & age of loans for everything, the bank that is lending money to the buyer usually INSISTS that everything be on the up & up. The bank simply doesn't want their lender to be faced with huge unexpected expenses.....which may have the effect of their loan going unpaid.

cfabe · #18 02/08/10, 07:48 PM

Around here the county will come out and inspect/test both systems for cheaper than any private company would do it. They may want to coordinate the septic inspection with pumping of the tank. Shouldn't cost more than $300 to get it all done. If you can't afford that, how are you gonna afford the house?

Joshie · #19 02/09/10, 11:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nicoleleighs4

Hi everyone,
I need some advice on living without well and septic.We live in Wisconsin. We are looking to buy a house that sits on some land and has been restored. It has a well and septic, but we are not sure of thier working order. I know we have to have a inspector come out. We just don't have the money right now, so it's going to be a few months. If worst comes to worst we need to know if it's possible to live with out well and septic somewhat comfortably and how? and yes, we have four kids. Any advice would be greatly appriciated!
Thanks..Nicole

DON'T purchase this house without a septic and well inspection. It doesn't cost much at all to have the county come out and inspect both of these.

I'd ask when this septic tank was last emptied.

In my opinion, if you don't have the money for this you don't have the money to purchase this house.

I doubt that the state of Wisconsin would allow one to live in a house without water and septic.

Little Quacker in OR · #20 02/09/10, 11:59 AM

I did not read this whole thread so maybe this has been mentioned? We too were looking at property and home without a septic tank. It DID have a good well. I was NOT ABOUT TO LIVE in a place with just a "cesspool" which is what this place had. We told the sellers that we would pay the "asking price" if THEY would have a new septic tank put in. That is what we did and I was a happy camper! LOL

I can tell you that some neighbors bought a place without a well but it had a spring...BAD thing to do! Spring quit as they are wont to do and they were without water for six months. Tried to pick up and haul their own water and couldn't keep it up. Found someone to have it delivered in a big flatbed truck in 55 gal drums. Boy was that HARD and expensive too! I know that just about none of us really knows how much water we really need per day for a family to survive. I mean in order to stay clean and not live like they do in Haiti !!!!

So, figure out just how much water you must have to live like a member of a modern nation and where all that waste is going to go...and there is a LOT of it! Not just from a toilet either. Then see if you can work out a deal to at least get the septic system put in before you move in the place. Maybe you can work a deal to have the well fixed and working too? I would. I'd NEVER buy a place without these two in working order!

Good luck. LQ

Quote:

Originally Posted by nicoleleighs4

Hi everyone,
I need some advice on living without well and septic.We live in Wisconsin. We are looking to buy a house that sits on some land and has been restored. It has a well and septic, but we are not sure of thier working order. I know we have to have a inspector come out. We just don't have the money right now, so it's going to be a few months. If worst comes to worst we need to know if it's possible to live with out well and septic somewhat comfortably and how? and yes, we have four kids. Any advice would be greatly appriciated!
Thanks..Nicole