No septic repair area

[Jubilee07]

I had a contract on a house in Yadkin Valley NC but my realtor found out there was no septic repair area. He told me not to buy the house even though I loved it. Also, the septic and the well are on someone else's property although the septic is not shared, the well is. Was I right to cancel out?[I] Is it a bad idea to buy any house if there is no repair area? I had never heard of this before.

[jimbo]

Dont know anything about that stuff. What is a septic repair area?


As a personal opinion, I would suggest plenty of legal input when buying a house with a well and septic on someone else's land. Do you have rights in perpetuity? Who is responsible and who pays to fix things? Do you have rights of access to make repairs?

[Jubilee07]

A septic repair area is somewhere you could put a new septic system in the event the old one failed and needed to be replaced. There is lifetime access rights for the septic (although there is no place to put a new one) and the well has those same rights too...UNLESS the well should ever run dry. The deal was that the landowner would maintain and repair the well and the homeowner pays the electric for it.

[Jubilee07]

The house sits on almost half an acre but there are no places to put a well or septic there.

[Redwood]

Sounds like red flags are waving all over this deal!:eek:

[Squ1rrel]

I would be worried about any real estate deal where something servicing ONLY your property is on someone else's...could cause a heck of a mess anytime something goes wrong with that septic, especially if you can't get it moved to your property. Rights or not, if that septic were to damage his property, you may have been liable...Probably a good idea to stay away from that one.

[alternety]

You might look into an anaerobic septic system and how your local jurisdiction views the effluent. Some of these types of system output potable water. It is possible you may be allowed to put one of these on your property and eliminate the septic problem

If you do, keep in mind where you might be able to put a well if you need one and site the septic accordingly.

[Mikey]

I hate to mention the L word, but have your lawyer look at the other property owner's deed and title, as well as yours, to see if you're protected via easements, etc., to maintain your water and sewer systems. If you really love the place, you could talk to the other owner to see what his feelings are about the situation as well, and in any event you've got a strong negotiating point.