Things to beware of in a country house

[mnnice]

We just made an offer to buy a small acreage (1 1/2 acres) with a house, garage, and small barn. If our offer is accepted the next step will be to have the place inspected and well tested. I've never lived where there was a well and have only lived a couple of months with my folks that have a septic. What should we be wary of? Any questions you wished you had asked before you closed?

[farmer mama]

If the house is older I would check for lead paint. We have a septic and we made sure it was pumped before buying and make sure there are no trees on the drain field, also we try to limit the amount of toilet paper going down the drain so it is recommended that you throw pee TP in the garbage, and we try to conserve water and space our laundry throughout the week so there isn't one day where the system is getting tons of water. We checked the well for flow, lead, arsenic, the standard stuff like e. coli and nitrates, and pesticides.

[tboroson]

Oh, boy, lots of questions about the septic. How old is the drainfield? How well has it been maintained? A drainfield has a life of maybe 20 years if it's really well cared for and in the right environment. The tank needs to be pumped about every 2-3 years, and if it isn't it will affect the longevity of the drainfield. When was the last time a perk test was done? If the drainfield is old, you might need a new one. If it doesn't meet current perk regulations, you could end up having to put in a sand mound. How many people is the system rated for? (Or how many gallons a day?) I've never heard any problems regarding flushing regular amounts of toilet paper, though I've seen people post the "If it's yellow, let it mellow, if it's brown flush it down" signs in their homes. (My own septic system is huge, rated for way more than we have living here, so we don't worry about that...)

As for the well, talk to the testing company and see what they test for. Some municipalities/counties/states are more stringent than others. Do some research on what they're testing for, what *you'd* like tested, and what limits you'd like to see, not just that it passes the legal test. If you have to put in a water softener or conditioner, make sure you also get a reverse osmosis filter - you don't want to be drinking those salts and chemicals. And, don't let them cheap out on installing the filter. Ours was put in by the previous owner right before we bought the house. He didn't put in an inline switch to cut the water to it. So, when a mouse chewed the tubing leading from the filter to the kitchen sink, we had to shut off water to the whole house to keep water from pouring out of that tube. That was Christmas Day. Home Depot wasn't open on Christmas Day for us to get what we needed to fix it. We showered at my parent's house...

Also, what can they tell you about the well pump? How old is it? Has it ever failed? Where is it located?

Have the house radon tested. But, if it's slightly elevated, do some research - apparantly the US has far, far stricter regulations than the rest of the world for radon. Ours was slightly too high, and when we learned that Canada's radon limits were several times higher than the US, we decided not to freak out about it.

If the basement gets wet, and especially if there is any sheetrock on the walls, have it checked for mold.

If the boiler is really old, you might want to have it inspected. In the grand scheme of things, they're not that expensive to replace (a couple thousand, not like a roof which is $20,000+) so if it's in bad shape, it might not be worth throwing a fit about; But, you'll still want to know.

Good luck!

[Livi's Mama]

On a different note, you might want to check for evidence of mice. We had a big problem our 1st winter in our place. DH tried finding & filling any holes & this winter has been much better, but we'll always have to have traps in the basement. Not that city houses never get mice, but our old country house was apparently a mice condo before we moved in!

[mnnice]

Thanks for all the information. I think the well and septic would of been okay, both are newer (1998 and 2000) and the county we live in requires that you pump every two or three years. It's nice to know the right questions to ask.

After we made the offer we had a market evaluation done on our house and it was a tad disappointing, but I appreciated the research and honesty of the real estate broker. Our offer on the other place was quite a bit below the list price and the buyer countered but gave very little. So to make a long story short we would of spent about the same money to have a tad more land and a better location and way inferior house. DH and I decided it was not worth the trouble and are going back to just keeping our eyes open for the right place.