Putting an Addition on a House that has Septic and Well

Damascus, MD · Member since 2016 · 74 posts · 7 votes

Hi Everyone,

I have a house in Maryland that I am looking to flip. Right now it is a 1 level 2 bed 2 bath 880 sqft. house. I am thinking that this would be a hard sell after repairs for obvious reasons. So I was thinking, what if I put a 700 sqft addition on the house and add a bedroom? Now I would have a 1580 sqft. 3 bed 2 bath house which I believe will be a lot easier to sell. The problem I am running into is that this house is on well and septic. My first question, "is adding an addition onto a house a good idea?" and my second question, "will I run into problems with the septic and well?"

Thanks,

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David Krulac

Mechanicsburg, PA · Member since 2013 · 3k+ posts · 2k+ votes

10y

@Aj Bowman

You are adding a 700 sq ft third bedroom? So the bedroom is like 26 x 26 and almost as big as the entire remainder of the house?

If the rest of the house is 880 sq ft and includes a LR, kit, 2 br and 2 baths, the rooms are not large rooms. If you add that 700 sq ft bedroom, it would be out of place with the other small rooms. I'd be more inclined for say a 12 x 15 bedroom addition on this house.

I don't know MD rules. Here adding a 3rd bedroom on aseptic house usually is not a problem if the house was built and the septic permitted after 1972. This presumes that the septic is in good working condition.

What are the numbers? How much will the addition cost? How long will it take? What permits are needed? And the biggest ? is how much more will it add to the sale price?

If the numbers don't make a profit, don't do it.

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Brian Tome
Attorney · Worton, MD · Member since 2014 · 276 posts · 195 votes
10y
@Aj Bowman
You should check with your County Building Inspector's Office, but generally the well volume and septic drain field size is determined by the number of bedrooms a home has, so if you add one the old well and septic will have to be large enough to handle it. While a small house may have a corresponding shallow well and small drain field because that is all that was required at the time, my experience is that most older homes were built by men who foresaw the potential for additions to the living space and dug the well and installed the drain fields with an eye toward future expansion.
To be safe, a trip to the Building Inspector's Office and County Health Department (to test well quality and review any history of non-compliance) will be a minimal time investment to help you determine your rehab costs.
P.S. - Maryland now has a BAT septic requirement that you can read about here -
http://mde.maryland.gov/programs/water/bayrestorationfund/onsitedisposalsystems/pages/water/cbwrf/index.aspx If you have to install a new system or expand the old, it will have to be brought up to code and that is a significant expense.
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David Krulac
Mechanicsburg, PA · Member since 2013 · 3k+ posts · 2k+ votes
10y
@Aj Bowman
You are adding a 700 sq ft third bedroom? So the bedroom is like 26 x 26 and almost as big as the entire remainder of the house?
If the rest of the house is 880 sq ft and includes a LR, kit, 2 br and 2 baths, the rooms are not large rooms. If you add that 700 sq ft bedroom, it would be out of place with the other small rooms. I'd be more inclined for say a 12 x 15 bedroom addition on this house.
I don't know MD rules. Here adding a 3rd bedroom on aseptic house usually is not a problem if the house was built and the septic permitted after 1972. This presumes that the septic is in good working condition.
What are the numbers? How much will the addition cost? How long will it take? What permits are needed? And the biggest ? is how much more will it add to the sale price?
If the numbers don't make a profit, don't do it.
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Russell BrazilBusiness Member
Moderator
Real Estate Agent · Washington, D.C. · Member since 2012 · 17k+ posts · 30k+ votes
10y
Im bypassing your question to add some other perspective here....Im not sure you would recoup your expenses in the sale by adding an addition. This will obviously depend on the specifics of the property and the location....but a few properties that come to mind that I know have had additions, have not created enough premium to justify building the addition strictly from an investment point of view.
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Aj Bowman
OP
Damascus, MD · Member since 2016 · 74 posts · 7 votes
10y
Originally posted by @David Krulac:

@Aj Bowman
You are adding a 700 sq ft third bedroom? So the bedroom is like 26 x 26 and almost as big as the entire remainder of the house?
I am sorry I was not clear, I really just want to make the house bigger to the 1500 sq ft range and not put a 700 sq ft room on the side. That would be huge. So maybe have a 300 sq ft room and make the kitchen bigger. Something along those lines.
This house is in Montgomery County so I believe it would sell pretty quick if I make it an 3 bed 2 bath. The price right now is at 129,900 so I would have a lot of room to add the addition money wise. But after the comments, I think I am going to run into a big problem with the septic and well.
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Aj Bowman
OP
Damascus, MD · Member since 2016 · 74 posts · 7 votes
10y
Originally posted by @Russell Brazil:

Im sorry Russell, I did not know how to at you in my comment above.
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Colleen F.Pro Member
Investor · Narragansett, RI · Member since 2013 · 8k+ posts · 4k+ votes
10y
Septics are usually rated for a maximum number of bedrooms. If you have a two bedroom septic you have a two bedroom house even if you add another bedroom you can't advertise it as such in a number of states. I don't know about Maryland. If you septic is already rated for 3 bedrooms and they decreased the house to two you could add another bedroom back in but you would have to know the history. It is not based on square footage it is based on bedrooms.
Your biggest issue will be where is the well and where is the leach field for the septic. Do they sit where you want to put your addition? my understanding is an addition like this likely would trigger bringing systems up to code. For a drilled well you might not have to do much. For the septic it could be a lot even if the leach field location is not in your way. To estimate cost you probably need to see the site plan and know the current septic size.
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Jim Brown
Millersville, MD · Member since 2015 · 140 posts · 47 votes
10y
Just went thru this same scenario. I was looking at a 2/1 and the plan was to make it a 3/2. Long story short, the entire septic system would have had to been replaced. And since this property was considered to be in a Bay critical area in Maryland, it would have to be a special nitrogren reducing system. All in was around $25K and the state would possibly kick in some rebates. That pretty much killed the deal which was already a little thin to begin with.
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David Krulac
Mechanicsburg, PA · Member since 2013 · 3k+ posts · 2k+ votes
10y
@Colleen F.
In some states like PA, the minimum sized septic system is 3 bedrooms, there are no 1 or 2 bedroom systems, so adding a bedroom doesn't affect the size of a permitted septic system for any system less than 3 bedrooms as long as the new total is not more than 3.
In some rare occasions a builder/owner might initially build a septic larger than the number of originally built bedrooms, anticipating future growth.
I've been licensed by the state to do septic testing and septic designs.
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Colleen F.Pro Member
Investor · Narragansett, RI · Member since 2013 · 8k+ posts · 4k+ votes
10y
@David Krulac
Good to know. Location matters. I did live in PA at one point and they did not even inspect the septic on transfers at that time early 90's. I know in RI, NJ, and MA you need inspection and my experience is size is by bedroom.
What you can see in RI is not builders building bigger septics but people combining bedrooms because the rooms are small and then when someone wants to do an addition the house is a 3 bedroom septic but a two bedroom house. That being said in RI it doesn't do much for you because if you add living space you must upgrade the septic in many counties, not sure if that is true in PA. They require the newer systems with pumps and filtering due to the environmental sensitivity and proximity to the ocean. They are expensive systems with those darn alarms.
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Sam Lin
Real Estate Agent · Gaithersburg, MD · Member since 2016 · 99 posts · 32 votes
10y
@Aj Bowman You can look to make a bigger deck (if possible) or knock down some walls to create more room. With good pictures and staging, you can make 880 sq ft feel bigger.
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David Krulac
Mechanicsburg, PA · Member since 2013 · 3k+ posts · 2k+ votes
10y
@Colleen F.
On sales transfers the banks usually require a septic inspection, but municipalities do not. We have sold a lot recently where we were able to re-use the septic after we demo-ed the house. The buyer was paying cash, but I insisted that they have an inspection done to make sure that there were no septic problems. There were a couple minor things that needed attention.
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David Krulac
Mechanicsburg, PA · Member since 2013 · 3k+ posts · 2k+ votes
10y
@Colleen F.
We had another one where a mobile was removed 5 years earlier and upon inspection were able to use the existing system.
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Account Closed
Real Estate Investor · State College , PA · Member since 2009 · 594 posts · 173 votes
10y
Originally posted by @David Krulac:

@Colleen F.
In some states like PA, the minimum sized septic system is 3 bedrooms, there are no 1 or 2 bedroom systems, so adding a bedroom doesn't affect the size of a permitted septic system for any system less than 3 bedrooms as long as the new total is not more than 3.
In some rare occasions a builder/owner might initially build a septic larger than the number of originally built bedrooms, anticipating future growth.
I've been licensed by the state to do septic testing and septic designs.
Dave, what don't you do;)
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David Krulac
Mechanicsburg, PA · Member since 2013 · 3k+ posts · 2k+ votes
10y
@Account Closed
I also learned to do title searches.
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Account Closed
Real Estate Investor · State College , PA · Member since 2009 · 594 posts · 173 votes
10y
@David Krulac
Haha. At this point, me too. Of course you don't know what your don't know.
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