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JHZR2

New septic systems in NJ?

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My home has municipal sewer.  I’m looking at a property as an investment, which currently has a cesspool.  Current NJ regulations require these to be changed over to septic or other approved method. 
 

I get it that a lot depends, and pricing can range widely.  This is a small house - two bedrooms, 1.5 baths. Gloucester county between Glassboro and Vineland.  Not a lot around there, but it’s not wetlands, beach, etc. 

Any thoughts on what a new septic system will cost?  Again I get it that it depends, and a ROM might be +/- 50%. Just trying to determine home value given this major modification.

Thanks for any info you can provide!

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@Oakridgefirearms

Correct, a home cannot be sold with a cesspool unless you plan on having a septic put in very shortly after. It's actually a huge headache to do it after the sale, and you might not even get a mortgage unless there is a working septic. Not to mention the county health department will be up ur butt.

Septics can vary in price, but not so much the size  of tank(determined by #bedrooms).. but the size of the leech field(determined by drainage). Expect anywhere from 20-30k.

I personally walked away from a few really nice properties because they had cesspools.. its really something the seller should have done before even listing a property. People can't really get approved mortgages with a heavy expense like that.

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Apparently selling as-is allows the transaction to proceed. It would be a cash purchase.  I guess there needs to be some sort of promise to do the work?  Or is it just that one can’t get a CO (which Imactuallyndont care about)?  But 20-30k is a major consideration.  
 

Wonder what it would actually cost if there wasn’t a law forcing it...

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12 minutes ago, JHZR2 said:

apparently selling as-is allows the transaction to proceed. It would be a cash purchase.  But 20-30k is a major consideration.  
 

Wonder what it would actually cost if there wasn’t a law forcing it...

I believe you are correct... but you still have to have a septic put in within like 90 days.. 

The health department will yank your COO

 

Anyone buying rural will tell you Septics are the biggest killer of home sales.. I was in contract when the inspection failed on a home... we backed out that day after reading the report, once I saw solids made it into the distribution box.. nooooway. 

Well actually I renegotiated the price 30k lower to fix the issue, they said no..I said bye. That house was on the market for another year, and wound up selling for even less than i offered. So definitely budget it into the sale, and walk away if it doesn't work out 

 

A lot of work goes into the leachfeild. It's basically a massive bio filter with layers of filtration. $$$$ The law only passed in 2012 and these things cost an arm and leg before that.

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31 minutes ago, JackDaWack said:

I believe you are correct... but you still have to have a septic put in within like 90 days.. 

The health department will yank your COO

 

Anyone buying rural will tell you Septics are the biggest killer of home sales.. I was in contract when the inspection failed on a home... we backed out that day after reading the report, once I saw solids made it into the distribution box.. nooooway. 

Well actually I renegotiated the price 30k lower to fix the issue, they said no..I said bye. That house was on the market for another year, and wound up selling for even less than i offered. So definitely budget it into the sale, and walk away if it doesn't work out 

 

A lot of work goes into the leachfeild. It's basically a massive bio filter with layers of filtration. $$$$ The law only passed in 2012 and these things cost an arm and leg before that.


Thanks for the info.  Funny thing to this is I really want the garage, not the house. It could be bulldozed for all I care, or at least be uninhabitable, if they would let me just upkeep it to prevent degradation. I’d accept no COO if they would lite me use the detached garage and leave the house vacant...

wonder how that would go over?

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12 minutes ago, JHZR2 said:


Thanks for the info.  Funny thing to this is I really want the garage, not the house. It could be bulldozed for all I care, or at least be uninhabitable, if they would let me just upkeep it to prevent degradation. I’d accept no COO if they would lite me use the detached garage and leave the house vacant...

wonder how that would go over?

 

I suspect it would go over like a fart in church..... not good

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6 minutes ago, eyeinstine said:

 

I suspect it would go over like a fart in church..... not good

It was semi rhetorical... it’s incredible how difficult it is to just find more garage space... including in SJ where there’s a lot of open space... 

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If you plan to occupy the house or rent it, consider a filter on the washing machine drain/ejection line.  Over time the fabric bits may shorten the life of the field.

Also, if there’s a well with a brine backwash system, consider a separate place to eject that salt water.  It may actually be required these days. But dumping that water into your field is supposedly bad.  If you have an aerobic treatment system like a Septic Genie, which uses live bacteria to break down solids, the brine is not good for that system.

By the way, one purpose of a bacteria system like Septic Genie is to break down or prevent build of a sort of slime in your field slowing down its ability to drain.  When that field backs up...its bad news,  $15k plus to remediate it.

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If you are on a small lot with a well, also remember that the new septic system has to be at least 75 feet from the well. When I sold my previous house we needed to install a new system, and because the lot was long but not very wide, this was a real headache. 

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On 4/7/2020 at 11:58 AM, Grapeshot said:

If you are on a small lot with a well, also remember that the new septic system has to be at least 75 feet from the well. When I sold my previous house we needed to install a new system, and because the lot was long but not very wide, this was a real headache. 

Thought in some cases where a full septic is not feasible, a holding tank was acceptable.  What I’m looking at is about .8 acres.  

I might rent the house, might not. I’d buy it for the garage.  Even if rented, it’s two bedrooms. Not really able to support a lot of people. I’d be willing to upkeep it vacant claiming it as a “vacation” home,  just for the land and garage. Having a house attached is a necessary evil to get a garage on a property at a reasonable price in NJ it seems...

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3 hours ago, maintenanceguy said:

I don't know what you're paying but putting a steel building on an empty lot is a lot less hassle than a house you can't occupy and will have to maintain.

That’s absolutely my desired goal. But all the towns around shun this practice based upon zoning.  
 

If it’s a residential zoned area then such a building is an accessory structure and needs a residence. If commercial/industrial zoned areas, then they don’t like that there’s not a business being run from such a building. 
 

Maybe I’m just explaining it wrong to them...?

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On 4/9/2020 at 10:30 AM, JHZR2 said:

That’s absolutely my desired goal. But all the towns around shun this practice based upon zoning.  
 

If it’s a residential zoned area then such a building is an accessory structure and needs a residence. If commercial/industrial zoned areas, then they don’t like that there’s not a business being run from such a building. 
 

Maybe I’m just explaining it wrong to them...?

I don't think it matters what they like.  They have a master plan and they are required to follow that.  Whatever the zoning is for that neighborhood, you are allowed to build anything that's lower on the hierarchy.  Your attorney will talk to the city planner or to the planning board's attorney to remind him/her what their job is and you will get approval to build a commercial building in a commercially zoned neighborhood.

 

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3 hours ago, maintenanceguy said:

I don't think it matters what they like.  They have a master plan and they are required to follow that.  Whatever the zoning is for that neighborhood, you are allowed to build anything that's lower on the hierarchy.  Your attorney will talk to the city planner or to the planning board's attorney to remind him/her what their job is and you will get approval to build a commercial building in a commercially zoned neighborhood.

 

That’s interesting,  I’ve tried to be straight up - I want a garage/warehouse for personal use, and the zoning officers of two towns have essentially shot it down because of that.  An attorney supporting was a play I was looking into, but then came corona...

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On 4/6/2020 at 7:35 AM, eyeinstine said:

20-30K is spot on for a typical system..  Thats been the going price for the last 15 years or so..

thanks for short informative post, while cooking delicious recipes, that's really helpful to learn.

i was wondering that too, for a good while. thanks for lots of helpful information here.

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