Buying acreage, what do I need to know?

[murphy1244]

It's tough to find any property in south west pa that has any mineral or gas rights. A large piece of property adjoining me went up for sale last year and the owners did have all the rights since it had been in their family for years. Long story short, they sold the place for $80,000 less than what I offered them, difference was my offer included all gas and mineral rights and the winning offer was land only.

I too would not buy any land stripped of mineral rights. Why pay for the hassle of them digging up your land??

 

[wmonroe]

I too would not buy any land stripped of mineral rights. Why pay for the hassle of them digging up your land??

While I agree with you, that means you most likely won't be buying any land around this part of pa or will be paying considerably more, at least double, than it's worth.

 

[murphy1244]

While I agree with you, that means you most likely won't be buying any land around this part of pa or will be paying considerably more, at least double, than it's worth.

Thats ok by me.

 

[dmccarty]

Lots of great feedback, thanks. I knew this forum had a lot of wisdom and experience.

I never thought anything about checking the land in order to put in a septic system, I guess I assumed that was something routine, seeing that there are homes everywhere in the country. I will check on that, though.

It is critical to know if the land will perk. No perk, no septic and no house.

The reason we were able to buy our place is that there were only a few known perk locations for conventional or LPP(Low Pressure Pipe) septic fields. The developer lost his shirt on 70+ acres because he could not get percs and thus could not sell lots.

We had lots of "fun" with getting permits on our place due to perc. Long story that is recorded elsewhere on TBN over the years. You need to find out if the land in question percs, what type of septic system is allowed on that perc, how much it will cost, and what the city, county, and/or state requires or allows.

The land we own could support a house on each lot if one put in a spray septic system. What was interesting is that a spray system here, two decades ago, was $30K. Yet, there were TBNers down in Tejas, in the same time frame, with spray systems for $5K. $30K for a system was a rip off to say the least.

Dig deep, pun intended, into the soil perc. It is critical to you. Even if you have to pay to get a Soil Scientist out to test.

Later,
Dan

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Here they restrict building via septic rules. lots with a valid perc sale for a lot more than raw land.
You can make a conditional offer based on it passing a perc.

 

[WM75Guy]

Even if a conventional septic system will work and is allowed many folks go for the aerobic system just to recycle the water for lawn watering. We have two septic systems, one for the house and one for the stables. The system for the stables is bigger than the one for the house due to the volume of horse hair that gets into it. We went conventional when we built as we are in deep sand and the drainfields of both our systems grows grass in strategic areas of our property. The cost difference was not that much in 2009 when we built. The aerobics do take more maintenance than conventional as you have moving parts, electrical components, and chemicals.

 

[Redneck in training]

Soil on our land is pure clay. You could make bricks out of it. It doesn't perk at all. The county will issue a septic permit that stipulates that it has to be installed by certified installer and the septic has to be of approved design specific to the particular area. It discharges to the surface. You have to get the discharge tested every year for bacteria. Instead of paying trained technician to take the sample I took a simple course and got the licence. We have to call a licensed lab that will send us sterile sample bottles, I fill them with samples from the discharge and deliver them within 24 hours back to the lab. The discharge should be drinkable. I wouldn't drink it but our dog does.
I other words getting septic/building permit even if the soil doesn't perk is a matter of county policy. There are septic designs for non percolating soil. I don't know how much standard septic cost but we paid 15000 USD in 2004. It has 1500 gal tank and a large network of horizontal pipes where the last digestion takes place.

 

[dmccarty]

...
I other words getting septic/building permit even if the soil doesn't perk is a matter of county policy. There are septic designs for non percolating soil. I don't know how much standard septic cost but we paid 15000 USD in 2004. It has 1500 gal tank and a large network of horizontal pipes where the last digestion takes place.

In NC, and I suspect else where, the perk requirements are set by the state and the county or city/town might have additional requirements as well. It can be a morass, pun intended, to get a permit. :laughing::shocked:

The county "inspector" failed our perc tests that were done by TWO certified Soil Scientists. The "inspectors" qualifications? I think he graduated from high school and he could scribble his X on a permit. He certainly did not have the qualifications of a Soil Scientist and I knew more about his job than he did because I had read the state manual. In our case, when this "inspector" said the land did not perc, in spite of the professional opinion of two Soil Scientists, I knew I could challenge the ruling to the state. How did I know this? I read the book. That state over ruled the "inspector," we got our permit and had no further issues with the "inspector."

Now, I had a clue that the "inspector" would do what he did from the history of the property and responses, or shall I say, lack of response from one Soil Scientist. There were games afoot with the inspector. But in the end, we got the land, and he lost his job. Not my doing though. I think the seeds he sowed finally got reaped.

Knowing the perc rules, who created them, who enforces them and how to work around them, can be very important. The "inspector" either wanted money in order for us to get the permit or he wanted to block us from buying the land. Maybe both. Since I knew the rules, he got nothing. <InsertEmoticonWithTheFinger> :laughing::laughing::laughing:

Later,
Dan

 

[smoothED]

When I got my 140 acres it had an old house from the 50's on that the bank said wasn't worth anything. So, they gave me what is called a land loan,30% down adjustable rate since there was no habitable building on it. I went with anyway figuring I'm going to put a house and then refinance. Boy was I wrong, the'll give me a fixed rate for the house and a surveyed 20 acres around it and then survey the rest. The guy at the bank said the only other way is to pay off the loan, well, if I could do that I wouldn't need them. I'm still trying to figure out my options.

 

[SirReal63]

If the land is around Bay City I don't expect he will have any perc issues.