Would you purchase a house with Septic and Well water?

[Hoai T.]

Hi everyone,

 I am looking to buy my first property in North New Jersey area. A lot of the houses in further North New Jersey are cheaper but usually they have septic and well water. Would you buy a house with those? do they entail with a lot of maintenance?

Thank you!

[Dustin Davis]

Hoai Thuong Nguyen my current home has both well and septic... I’ve been here for almost 6 years with no issues with either. The maintenance on septic is exaggerated and where they suggest suggest taking a look at it every 2 years, if it’s properly maintained doesn’t need to be pumped that often. There is expense in the well as the pump might go out at some point...but again we’ve got one on our place that’s been there for 20 years and is still working fine.
If it were me in that situation I’d look at a few different things,
1. Educate myself on the “disadvantages” of the cheaper properties and understand true cost (rather than perceived)
2. Look at how long before being able to connect to city utilities
3. Use the “disadvantage” as negotiating leverage