Buying a house that is on a two bedroom septic system
mgabriel
15 years ago
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blueheron
15 years ago
kathyg_in_mi
15 years agoRelated Discussions
Security system? Safety of bedrooms in ranch style home
Comments (32)I'm a woman. I also understand statistics. >I understand your stats that we are more likely to get into a car accident than have a child abducted from their bed but do you think that Polly Klaas's parents would take comfort in those stats. So if it was your child you would just say wow, they had more of a chance being killed in a car accident than being abducted from home. That's insane thinking. If my kids died because they got a phenomenally rare form of cancer, I'd be devastated, but I wouldn't spend time obsessing about the possibilities of really rare cancers and wouldn't make sure I lived close to a great cancer center, just in case. Nor would I go around hysterically advising parents of the same if it DID happen. >The biggest risk from an unlocked window is burglary and a possible encounter with the burglar(s). That risk will vary greatly by location and time of day. The VAST majority of robberies are during the day--for a reason! If someone who knows you wants to kill you, having a bedroom on the second floor isn't going to help. And the vast majority of murders are of this type. If a stranger is interested in a crime of opportunity, there are many other things to think about before decided that having no first-floor bedrooms window is the solution. A stranger can enter just as easily through any other window and then CLIMB THE STAIRS. Windows can be broken, believe it or not, too. Want to block off all windows with bars? Then you're far more likely to die--from a fire! If you live in a bad neighborhood or a neighborhood with high "crime exposure," then you should have burglar alarms, lights, thorny plants, a dog, etc., before worrying about what floor your bedroom is on. Best advice for not getting murdered? Stay away from unstable people. Seriously. Be careful who you marry! And stay away from drugs, gangs, etc., and those who are involved in them. Don't work in a convenience store or gas station. or be a food delivery person. Don't live in the most crime-ridden neighborhoods, and don't walk through them, either. There. You've just taken out more than 98% of the risk of being killed....See MoreBuying a 5 bedroom house with 2 bedroom septic system
Comments (6)Yep - you can cause HELL for the current home owner. Just like complaining about a car sitting on the street for over 24hours... Course - your actually trying to BUY the house.... "Tennessee Ground Water Protection Division" might be able to scream at them... Demand they upgrade the system - or remove the bedrooms. So they could remove the bedrooms. Undo the entire remod. Course the house will be off the market then, and you wouldn't want to buy it - since it would no longer be a 5 bedroom house... People remodel stuff all the time without permits. And I know of no house that is perfect. A manufactured house can have bedrooms added to it. Safely. Even without the county's blessings. Instead of trying to FORCE the current homeowner to do something - why don't you try communication and negotiating?? The current homeowner doesn't have to do anything. They can take the house off the market. Have you offered full price? They can refuse to sell to you - if you have not offered full price. You obviously have a counter-offer based on the septic - so they do as well. They might decide they don't wish to redo the septic. And say no go to your 'offer'. You have 5.5 acres of land. It is possible - but maybe unlikely - that in all of these 5.5 acres - no land would be suitable for a 5 bedroom septic. I mean - what if the septic can't be ugraded?? My brother lives on a lot of land, and the cost to upgrade his septic is quite high... It functions fine, but now the county demands that it meets code when the house is sold... and it does not currently meet code. It met code when built - but not now... It is not in the sellers best interest to have tests conducted to see if the current septic, or surounding land can be made to function for a 5 bedroom house. He has a 5 bedroom house. It functions for his family. If a septic eval states that his septic is not adequate for a 5 bedroom house, and cannot be upgraded - this makes his house virtually worthless. He must disclose this info on the disclosure form, etc. So - it is not in his best interests to allow a septic eval - when his septic functions fine. Course - an eval might state it is adequate for a 5 bedroom house... Then he's fine... Don't know what the septic rules are in Tenn. If you like the house, you might try teaching your children to be more careful about what they're doing, and still go ahead with the purchase. Only a septic eval can determine if this is sufficient. And ground conditions, etc. SUBSTANTIALLY come into play with the cost for a septic. NO WAY are you going to know the cost to 'upgrade' without a substantial eval. And if the county doesn't require it to be brought up to code during a sell - as here where I live - than no way are you going to FORCE this guy to do it... I can't believe how adversarial people are! If the septic is currently working fine for 6 people, and you like the house - buy it - and do yearly maintenance on the septic, don't have a garbage disposal, flush tampons, etc.......See MoreWould you ever buy a 2 bedroom house?
Comments (52)Just did. It's just the two of us & we just bought our 2/1 retirement house. We have several years to get it ready & will use it for weekends until we're ready to go there full time. Might eventually add another bathroom, but might not. We're going to renovate the one we have with a walk-in shower to make it easier for us as we grow older & I'm sure we can live with just one. I know a lot of people prefer a bigger house to accommodate guests (& stuff) but with the money we save on a smaller house, utilities & tax we can put them up at a local B&B when they visit & still come out way ahead! My parents stayed in the large family home too long because they wanted us all to have our own rooms when we came home - even though all of us were almost never there at the same time - maybe twice a year. The rest of the year, they had to deal with all of the maintenance required on a 4/4 with large yard, etc. Our primary residence is a large 3/2 and that's cool too - just takes me longer to clean, more money to heat/cool & lots more money in taxes. We can, and prefer to live small rather than large. Our last residence was a 1/1 farmhouse & we loved that too. Had no problem selling it either....See MoreIf you have a two bedroom house,
Comments (40)Well, I just discovered this thread languishing out of date. And it is very interesting. WE have a 2 BR cottage. I do not know the square footage, truly. But if anyone has a living room which is a room unto itself, like ours is, it could work as a guest room, or even an office if you keep it neat. Living rooms in small houses should not be single use rooms. We do have our 42" TV mounted above the mantle, so it is a "media" room. I did make the side porch into a sun porch, but that just gives a greater sense of space to the LR. And we ended up removing the french doors closing off the LR from the dining room. I am keeping them in the garden shed just in case. Because it occurred to me that the LR would be a nicer and prettier room to put up a guest than the second bedroom. At first, I did have a sofa bed to use, but it wore out. Now I have a sort of daybed which has a wooden frame on 3 sides and lots of loose pillows, with a 6" thick foam cushion to sit on. It is about 7' long, and looks sort of British tropical style....but I discovered the other day it was made in Italy. My DH currently has his laptop in a corner of the LR, on a tiny console. Today I decided to give my coffee table to a dear friend and use two smaller metal tables before the sofa. In a small room, they work better than a large table which holds a lot of clutter...magazines, mail, coffee cups, dog leash, etc. And I forgot that I put a series of book cases behind the sofa. The lower shelves hide a multitude of not-so-pretty things. The upper shelves can display things you like, and on top I have framed art etc leaned against the wall. And now I intend to make the DINING ROOM share the multi-tasking load around here. By building a window seat flanked at either end by a ceiling height set of cabs, it will provide some awesome storage. If anyone needs space for storing fabric, that should give you lots of room. We only have a smallish dining table, square, to place where the window seat provides one of the diners a seat, but the table might be good for a cutting surface too. The sewing machine could work in a cabinet as a buffet, or some other clever camouflage folks come up with. With small houses, the trick is to think outside the box, outside the ordinary. Marti, for me, the laundry in a detached garage would be a deal breaker. I have an aversion to going outside after dark because I lived alone for so many years. We bought a nice stacking unit. Only ONE plug for both appliances. Boy is it heavy, but oh my that front loading washer does clean the clothes! So put a stacking W/D in a corner of the kitchen, or in a closet, or enclose a back porch like we did. Also, we are in the process of building a small leanto shed off the back porch, to relocate the water heater. We included in the WH shed enough space for a preheat tank against the time when DH will put a solar water heater system on our south-facing roof. LOTS of heat up there in our long hot season.But I'm not pushing him on that project, just let it come when he can take a breather. :)...See More
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