Determining Water/sewage Systems

[Doug in NC]

I have been doing some REO work in a new area and I am having trouble determining water/sewage systems (no assigned real estate agent & no MLS info & no survey). The area is generally rural in nature, and home sites are often .5 acre or larger in size. Typically, homes in my area are required to have at least .7 acre to be able to have septic systems.

I have determined that county water is the water supply for the area (fire hydrants nearby and no signs of a well). The strange thing is I can't find any sign of a septic system. In the past, I have often seen a square concrete lid cover for the septic system, but walking up and down the lot I have seen nothing. Even neighboring properties had no apparent signs of a septic system either. Properties are many miles from the nearest town, so I am pretty sure that no public sewer system exists (no manhole covers in streets either). One of the only other options I can think of is a community septic system, but I have noted no signs of this type of system either.

What is a surefire way to determine the septic system (maybe one of our home inspector/appraisers could answer this)? Should I try calling the county public services department to get an answer? How do you figure this out?

 

[Pamela Crowley (Florida)]

Should I try calling the county public services department to get an answer?

Yes, the county should know. At least in my market they would.

 

[larryhaskell]

Doug:

Typically this info is available from the appropriate governing planning department. If these properties are in the county then your local health dept. or whatever agency approves septic systems should be the one to contact. If no septic system then check with the appropriate water district to determine if they service the specific properties. We are lucky here because this info is available on Metroscan or on the web sites for the various counties. Good luck.

 

[C. Kevin Bokoske MAI]

If the home has a basement and you have access to it, you might try to follow the sanitary drain as it leaves the cellar wall and see where it is leading. Another possibility is that many communities have sewer and water fees. You could check there maybe to see if your subject has any payment history or even an account.

Kevin

 

[Bill_FL]

Doug,

Good luck. I know of one jurisiction in NC that will only tell the property owner. I have said, well the potential buyer has hired me, the owner is deceased. Their response was, well, when the guy buys it, we'll tell him.

 

[xm39hnu]

Doug,
The tank is likely buried, cover and all. It's a shame that spring hasn't fully sprung yet, because you can spot a septic drain field from the cheap seats when the grass is growing. Health department or department of groundwater protection is your best shot for finding out if the property was permitted for a septic system. After exhausting your resources and coming up empty, you can ask some of the neighbors whether public sewage is available on that street, and if not, do they use individual or community septic systems. Using that info, make an extraordinary assumption about the subject's means of waste disposal.

 

[Elliott]

You just never know. I had a property I'd done a
few times and it was smack dab in the middle of
a city of 10,000 with 50x100 lots and it wasn't
connected to sewer. It had a "connect order"
but the city never followed up. Local kids
complained about the smell, they thought an
animal or person had died in the area and then the
tank connected to a open pipe was discovered.

Owners had never disclosed it.

elliott

 

[MarkWillis]

Always assume when it comes to septic tanks on REO properties, unless you know for a fact there isn't one (such as when they pump their crap into a creek). If it does have a septic tank how are you going to know if it is in working order, etc. They probably sabotaged it on their way out the door.