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I'm looking to move further out into the country but all the houses are on well water, septic or cesspool, and most are oil heat. I've never lived in a house with these systems, it's always been modern city water/sewer, gas/electric heat.
For those of you who have those systems can anyone give me a simple breakdown of what I'm looking at as far as maintenance, cost, headaches, if any? What should be a red flag even before purchasing?
Thanks
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Whiskey_Bravo
08-10-21, 11:08
I'm looking to move further out into the country but all the houses are on well water, septic or cesspool, and most are oil heat. I've never lived in a house with these systems, it's always been modern city water/sewer, gas/electric heat.
For those of you who have those systems can anyone give me a simple breakdown of what I'm looking at as far as maintenance, cost, headaches, if any? What should be a red flag even before purchasing?
Thanks
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We purchased some land a while back and are now in the process of building on it so we can move there full time.
We don't have a well(on COOP water) but know some that do. The well pump will cost you electricity to run but it's nice having your own source of water. I would look into a solar set up for it , which is what I am going to do when we put a well in. I would suggest getting the water tested so you know what you are dealing with.
Septic does require maintenance but it's not that big of a deal. Only TP down the toilet. When we bought our property the old single wide was still using a cesspool. It worked and we never did anything with it. The trailer will be gone soon and the pit of despair will be filled in(it's covered by a large sheet of metal).
Oil heat I can't help you with as that is not common in Texas as far as I know. We will have electric heat pumps, a wood burning stove as back up heat and propane for cooking.
Straight Shooter
08-10-21, 11:30
Have your water tested thoroughly.
I grew up in a house of 7 on well water that was sulpher. WE couldnt tell it..but people who came over couldnt drink it or stand the smell of it.
Far as I know many decades later, none of us have ill effects from it. But I do remember a couple or three times in some hot, dry summer months dad would say to not stay in the shower too long,as "the well's gettin low". Other than every decade or more having the septic tank cleaned out..never had problems with that then, or elsewhere since. Its as common as the weather here to have both those things. Dont know at all about oil heat.
Have your water tested thoroughly.
I grew up in a house of 7 on well water that was sulpher. WE couldnt tell it..but people who came over couldnt drink it or stand the smell of it.
Far as I know many decades later, none of us have ill effects from it. But I do remember a couple or three times in some hot, dry summer months dad would say to not stay in the shower too long,as "the well's gettin low". Other than every decade or more having the septic tank cleaned out..never had problems with that then, or elsewhere since. Its as common as the weather here to have both those things. Dont know at all about oil heat.
Did any of you ever get chiggers? Lol
Second on the water test, plenty of things you don't want can be in it.
Septic tank is usually a non issue.
Oil heat may mean older installation which could have asbestos in it. Not necessarily a problem, but not something to beat around on.
We moved 'from the city' to the county, so from city water/sewer to a well and a septic system.
Wells. Pumps go bad, about $2,000 plus/minus for replacement. If you have a drought wells can run empty or at a trickle by the end of the summer. Test your water. Most well water is hard, so you need a water softener. If you lose power, you lose your well (pump), so get a generator or have a back-up plan. Get the biggest holding tank/pressure tank you can. Biggest issue when you don't have water is a bad pressure switch, not expensive to replace.
Septic. Septic systems are designed for the average occupancy of a house (i.e., 4 bedroom, assuming two parents, five people). More people than that, or more use every day (work from home, homeschool, etc.) will accelerate life expectancy of the system. usually get tank gets emptied every three or four years. If system starts to fail, big money, will need jurisdictional permits to replace. Some soils won't allow for one-for-one replacement, so you spend more money for a 'better' system. Our 'traditional' septic system crapped out (pun intended), we had to get a pressure manifold system, almost $20,000.
Straight Shooter
08-10-21, 12:39
Did any of you ever get chiggers? Lol
Second on the water test, plenty of things you don't want can be in it.
Septic tank is usually a non issue.
Oil heat may mean older installation which could have asbestos in it. Not necessarily a problem, but not something to beat around on.
HAA! You better know chiggers were & still are a way of life here in the South. I got a great laugh at that, thank you!
My girl is from Il..BUT..has been in TN for many years. We've been together almost 7 years, and when we first met..she didnt know what a chigger was, thought I was making it up, because I do likes spin tales & yarns. But, she has found out right quick what they are.
Straight Shooter
08-10-21, 12:41
I forgot, get a perk test, most locales require one before building.
SomeOtherGuy
08-10-21, 13:29
Living with 2/3 of those systems for 15 years. Well and septic pretty well covered above.
1) Fuel oil furnace: obsolete, but kinda a NE regional thing. Replace ASAP with anything else. Propane is most common around here. Heat pump systems (several kinds) do work fairly well. Outdoor wood boiler is a decent option if you have free firewood. Fuel oil heat is no fun and fairly expensive.
2) Well: get the water tested and budget for an eventual repair/pump replacement. Not all well water is hard or smelly, but a lot is.
3) Septic: local regulation can make this OK or troublesome. They work fine for a while, but eventually have to be rebuilt. Cost of rebuild would be $10k at lowest end and could top $50k depending on new (local) environmental laws and conditions.
I've lived nothing but country life for 42 years.
Septics are a regional thing. If they are pumped every couple years around here you can count on them failing after 20 years. Pumping them yearly and I know several systems that have lasted 40 years. Our ground is cold, so we don't get the microbial assistance that warmer climates get. It's still good to get that sludge out every once in a while. I pump mine every two years and it costs me $400.
Wells in our country are not a huge issue, but I second the recommendation to get it tested. Just because it's rural doesn't mean the last guy living there didn't spill a truck load of pesticides in the ground near the well. Plus, there are just areas who's ground water isn't good. I have a big rust problem with my wells and it's unavoidable around here. We have a filtration and iron removal system on our places and it runs about $2000 for the install and about $200 in filters and maintenance.
I have four kinds of oil heat that I'm responsible for. My retail store uses infloor heat using a boiler to heat the water and distribute it through the floor to heat the building. The boilers are really reliable and we are just doing our first major maintenance on them in 20 years. My rental building uses an oil fired forced air unit. It also went 20 years without big issues. The small issues are simply bearings in the fans, which most handy people can accomplish themselves. Both of my houses use oil fired Toyo room heaters. They are pretty reliable and simple to repair. They tend to be regional, though, and I rarely see these units outside of Alaska. My shop uses an oil fired on demand Toyo OM128 on demand heater. It heats water for the infloor heat and domestic hot water. This is my favorite unit and will be my go forward for future buildings I will build. Oil fired systems have come a long way and they can have efficiencies that rival natural gas and propane. The biggest concern for oil fired heat is the fuel supply tanks. If you have a below ground tank you have a risk of undetected spillage that can be a major pain to clean up. I use above ground tanks that I can keep an eye on.
I disagree on the wood fired outdoor heat thing. For me it was a gigantic pain in the ass and you're married to it. Without having a trained house sitter, it's tough to leave on vacation. We used one for five years and it did save me money, but we ultimately moth balled it.
Propane may be an alternative depending on price. It only produces 65% of the energy per gallon so that needs to be figured into the calculations. It's not a gallon to gallon comparison.
Finally, there are areas in the country that electric heat is actually the least expensive. My dad has owned several places in central Washington where this was a fact. It is also the cleanest and most trouble free.
Most rural areas still have home inspectors available and most of these folks fully understand what to look for in a rural setup.
Edited** to add more info.
Adding to what others have said. I've been on well and septic much of my life, and have designed, constructed, repaired, and maintained many as both a homeowner and a contractor.
Well:
Have a water sample collected and tested at a lab. Look for arsenic, coliform bacteria, iron, sulphur/H2S,... have the lab run the spectrum. Ask about pump and well maintenance, preferably including who has done the work. Often pump outfits will put their sticker somewhere on the control equipment. Ask the pros about the well and pump. Depending on where you live, but well records are usually available from the state or other agency. Dates drilled or recorded, NOI records, depth, size, casing type, and production numbers are all good things to know. Does the system have or need a filter, ironbreaker, softener system, etc.?
Septic:
The tank should be pumped and inspected as a part of the sale process. In many places it is required by state or local law to do so. Get as much detail as you can. If the tank was overly full of solids there is a risk that the leach field has been damaged and is an indicator of poor septic use, care, and maintenance. Get as much info as you can. Tank type and size, age of the system, soil classification and percolation rate (LTSAR or SAR) if you can, leach field size and construction data,... Alternatives to traditional tank/leach field vary widely and have a whole different set of things to look at. Garbage disposals and chlorine bleach are not good for a septic. Look for them when viewing a home.
I could get deeper into the weeds on these as I have some pretty exhaustive experience and credentials in this stuff. If you really wanna dive down the rabbit hole send a PM.
I'm not the guy to answer heating oil questions. Don't deal with that out here in the west really. We use propane, electric heat pumps, and other options when gas isn't available.
Business_Casual
08-10-21, 14:17
No personal experience, but a friend bought a house and didn’t have the oil tank properly inspected. Not hard to guess that it was bad and a major expense to demo and discard.
. Our ground is cold, so we don't get the microbial assistance that warmer climates get. .
I had never even thought of that and that's after watching video of Dick Proenneke's in ground/perma frost refrigerator hole and finding it very neat.
Have your well water tested and do research on the aquifer. Industrial farming has turned a lot of aquifers into toxic waste dumps. Pretty much all the well water here is so contaminated they recommend not to drink it. I've heard stories about some of it killing people's lawns even. If we build on our property, we will either have to do catchment or join the coop.
When you have the well tested, make sure you test for arsenic.
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Funny anecdote. There are some places in western Kentucky where the water is infused with a naturally occurring flammable gas (can't recall exactly what it was. It will aspirate out of the water quickly once it is exposed to air and no longer under pressure, but straight from the well you can light the water on fire.
Thanks guys. And to think I wasn't going to ask, assuming if it's for sale and recently occupied it's good. Never thought about pumps, pressure, dates, uphill/downhill...etc..
All the houses I'm looking at are in good condition but older. Talking late 40s to 80s so the septic is probably going to be original in many cases.
Oil heat here is mainly in large above ground tanks on the side of the house. Kinda like the AC unit. If it's inside it's usually the exact same tank but in the basement with a filling tube extension somewhere about ground on the other (outside) side of the wall. You may have seen similar tanks in or outside of mechanic shops. Usually where they dump their old oil door collection.
It's just me and the dog so I'm not too concerned about excessive use and worse case I can piss outside once or twice [emoji16][emoji2357]. Also why I'm not too concerned about oil use. I was planning on installing a pellet stove/fireplace if the house didn't already have a transitional fireplace and besides i don't need it to be extra warm. I'm fine with 70ish. Couple winters ago I spent 2 weeks without heat and the house never went below high 40s at night and mid 50s during the day. Wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. But anyway, it's still good to know what I'm getting into before signing the papers. Everything has a cost and I don't want to go bankrupt reinstalling all the sewer and fuel.
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Funny anecdote. There are some places in western Kentucky where the water is infused with a naturally occurring flammable gas (can't recall exactly what it was. It will aspirate out of the water quickly once it is exposed to air and no longer under pressure, but straight from the well you can light the water on fire.Have that in some places in Pa too. Become a real hot topic about a decade ago when fracking was big here
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Septic: the tank is usually designed for X bedrooms, so if you have less occupants than the tank is designed for it will need less frequent pumping unless you take massive shits. If you have more people, it will need to be pumped more often. Have it inspected to make sure it is structurally sound. Also have your leach field staked out, you don't want to be planting a vegetable garden on top of it. Also local regulations will have distances that need to be maintained from the tank and field for any construction above ground ie shed, deck, patio, above ground pool, and below ground ie foundations or in ground pool. Check to make sure that the components are not in an area which would impede future developments you may want to undertake. When we were looking for homes in NC we passed on one because the field was too close to the house for us to be able to fit a pool and deck.
Well: as others have said, test the water. You can always add various filtration and softening systems.
Oil Heat: the only thing I could think of is having the soil tested to make sure there are no leaks.
One to think about, have a generator for your water pump.
If you lose power during a storm (happens a lot) you lose your water if you don't have a back up power supply.
One to think about, have a generator for your water pump.
If you lose power during a storm (happens a lot) you lose your water if you don't have a back up power supply. Having a generator is pretty much mandatory in rural America. Mine is used primarily to keep the furnace going when the power is out and is not actually big enough to run my pump. I do have a large enough pressure tank that I have about 60 gallons in it if the power goes out. If the outage is days, I just bring home the gas powered welder trailer and pump up the water.
HAA! You better know chiggers were & still are a way of life here in the South. I got a great laugh at that, thank you!
My girl is from Il..BUT..has been in TN for many years. We've been together almost 7 years, and when we first met..she didnt know what a chigger was, thought I was making it up, because I do likes spin tales & yarns. But, she has found out right quick what they are.
I got them on my pecker at Boy Scout summer camp 25 years ago and still have ptsd from it. :)
We have a well.....at some point we are moving and going back to city water.
One to think about, have a generator for your water pump.
If you lose power during a storm (happens a lot) you lose your water if you don't have a back up power supply.
I don't have a well so, dumb question: the earth pressure at those depths below grade isn't enough to drive the water?
Averageman
08-11-21, 08:22
I got them on my pecker at Boy Scout summer camp 25 years ago and still have ptsd from it. :)
Obviously you needed the help of a Girl Scout with that !
I don't have a well so, dumb question: the earth pressure at those depths below grade isn't enough to drive the water?
No. The water in the water table is passive, so you need the pump. Pumps are electric. I have seen back-up hand pumps kinda like the old timey well.
We have a pool so if the power goes out we use pool water to flush and I boil it on the gas grill to make it potable. Otherwise get a generator or one of those big-ass rain collectors things and use rain water if you lose power.
For running a well you want to get a good genset. A quality gen of at least 5K. Smaller will run the well but the power they produce at max output is erratic, not clean sine wave, and can damage the pump. Pretty much every well pump service knows that prolonged power outages lead to a boom in pump replacements in the next few months cause folks will use whatever POS genset they can get their hands on.
in the islands and even my parents place on mainland has a huge holding tank for water gravity fed up a slope or in the islands raised above house
water is pumped into the tank so the pump is not always on just on when filling the tank
thought this was more the norm :) but sounds like its not ? funny when you grow up with something that you and all your neighbors have you thought it was the norm :)
do remember when the pump went down or needed something not a huge deal as things were normal
downside you have to clean the tank once every few years
in the islands and even my parents place on mainland has a huge holding tank for water gravity fed up a slope or in the islands raised above house
water is pumped into the tank so the pump is not always on just on when filling the tank
thought this was more the norm :) but sounds like its not ? funny when you grow up with something that you and all your neighbors have you thought it was the norm :)
do remember when the pump went down or needed something not a huge deal as things were normal
downside you have to clean the tank once every few years
That is pretty uncommon for residential wells these days. Municipalities in the Midwest and such use that same principle with water towers. Most residential wells use pressure tanks with an air bladder. Residential wells that have low flow volume will often have the well pump fill a storage tank over time and a separate pump will feed the house from the tank.
There is a pretty simple compressed air siphon you can DIY just to lift the water to the surface and into a tank. Some guys I know have put them in as a back up/shtf option. Uses a repurposed A/C compressor. Solar and the traditional windmill are off grid options as well.
I don't have a well so, dumb question: the earth pressure at those depths below grade isn't enough to drive the water?
We were in Fl at sea level so no. Same deal with sprinklers, if you want water above the ground you need a pump. I was personally on city water but I had relatives in Jupiter, Florida and the really nice houses were far from the city water hookups.
There is zero water pressure, you dig about 5 feet and you hit water in most places.
Straight Shooter
08-12-21, 03:48
I got them on my pecker at Boy Scout summer camp 25 years ago and still have ptsd from it. :)
WHOA NELLY that'll do it...Im hip, brother..been there, done that all my youth just about..ticks too.
Ive damn near stopped going innna woods just due to ticks...they aint like they used to be.
Sorry for the off- topic.
Non-electric pump over view
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydraulic_ram
Averageman
08-12-21, 05:30
My folks renovated houses in the 70's.
I worked alongside my Dad and I can only say, purchasing a rural home is a dream that can certainly turn in to a nightmare.
When you look, keep a notebook with you and figure out the running costs of all of these things your going to need to replace. When you start talking a furnace, a well, a septic tank, your talking real money.
My folks renovated houses in the 70's.
I worked alongside my Dad and I can only say, purchasing a rural home is a dream that can certainly turn in to a nightmare.
When you look, keep a notebook with you and figure out the running costs of all of these things your going to need to replace. When you start talking a furnace, a well, a septic tank, your talking real money.
Read this 5 times.
Hard enough to keep a house in the suburbs in good repair. Get out on the dirt roads and there is a reason the barn is falling apart and looks like crap. And everything in the barn is rusty and the fence is usually in need of serious repair. And the front deck more often than not is in crap shape. And the windows aren't exactly weather proof and haven't been for a long time.
Just getting building materials to the property is a literal chore so most farmers just add another nail to the boards that are falling off the house. Home repairs and improvements usually amount to a summer spent slopping on a heavy coat of paint in the hopes it will weather seal the home even though it won't.
When I was in my 20s the family farm was offered to me for FREE so that someone would be living there to help keep it up. I declined in order to pay rent for an apartment in town. There was a reason I turned down what was essentially a free house and that is because renting an apartment was easier and cheaper.
Whiskey_Bravo
08-12-21, 07:40
Read this 5 times.
Hard enough to keep a house in the suburbs in good repair. Get out on the dirt roads and there is a reason the barn is falling apart and looks like crap. And everything in the barn is rusty and the fence is usually in need of serious repair. And the front deck more often than not is in crap shape. And the windows aren't exactly weather proof and haven't been for a long time.
Just getting building materials to the property is a literal chore so most farmers just add another nail to the boards that are falling off the house. Home repairs and improvements usually amount to a summer spent slopping on a heavy coat of paint in the hopes it will weather seal the home even though it won't.
When I was in my 20s the family farm was offered to me for FREE so that someone would be living there to help keep it up. I declined in order to pay rent for an apartment in town. There was a reason I turned down what was essentially a free house and that is because renting an apartment was easier and cheaper.
While certainly more difficult to maintain a house in the country it is possible. I would say you need to be fairly self sufficient though. Getting trades to your place is a lot more difficult and a lot fewer choices.
Luckily now days there is a Walmart and a Home Depot within an hour of "most" places unless you are really in the middle of nowhere. Our ranch is fairly remote, about 4 miles on dirt to get to our gate. Nearest town of about 800 is about 20 minutes away. Closest actual town that has food and gas is 30 minutes. We do have a walmart and home depot about 45 minutes away so not all that bad, just make sure you get everything you need. Don't want to make a second trip for a single 3/4" fitting. Get all of the effing fittings while you are there just in case. Our plumbing is pex. I have everything needed to run a new line or fix a leak.
When I was in my 20s the family farm was offered to me for FREE so that someone would be living there to help keep it up. I declined in order to pay rent for an apartment in town. There was a reason I turned down what was essentially a free house and that is because renting an apartment was easier and cheaper.
In the late 60s, around the time I was born, my dad had considered getting out of the Marines and taking over 'the family farm' in Wisconsin. His parents (long-term foster parents) were long in the tooth. As the story goes he decided the maintenance and upkeep would just be too much. The house was built around the turn of the century. Recent family lore says the county and state took over the property after they died, there had been some family talk about seeing it they (the Wisconsin family) could buy it.
Different story, fast forward to around 1990. My Godparents owned two small side-by-side, sound-side houses on the water in North Carolina, across the sound from Morehead City. Each house had it's own pier into the sound. They offered to sell me either one, at a song, because they were just too old to keep them up. Also offered to sell me his 20-something foot Hatteras boat. I looked hard at all of them, and the amount of money required to fix them up, the houses AND the boat, were just way too much. No way a young 20-something-year-old me could have poured all of that money into renovation. It does make me a bit sad; those houses had been torn down, and the property remains for sale.
Yeah, there are some real challenges to living remote. Maintaining fence is a pain. Especially since drunks and morons crash through it on occasion. And the fire last year took out all the wood posts and corners. Getting a mortgage ain't like a suburban house. Insurance is a bitch, and you gotta get riders for damn near everything.
Then there is the people that come out from town and figure the rules don't apply out here. Gets a little wild from time to time. Now my "neighbors are good folks, but we don't really socialize. Cept if we bump into each other at the mailboxes, or in town. Sometimes we visit but it's rare. I'm good but the wife gets a little lonesome for socializing.
I think the trade offs are well worth it. But to each his own.
Whiskey_Bravo
08-12-21, 08:57
Yeah, there are some real challenges to living remote. Maintaining fence is a pain. Especially since drunks and morons crash through it on occasion. And the fire last year took out all the wood posts and corners. Getting a mortgage ain't like a suburban house. Insurance is a bitch, and you gotta get riders for damn near everything.
Then there is the people that come out from town and figure the rules don't apply out here. Gets a little wild from time to time. Now my "neighbors are good folks, but we don't really socialize. Cept if we bump into each other at the mailboxes, or in town. Sometimes we visit but it's rare. I'm good but the wife gets a little lonesome for socializing.
I think the trade offs are well worth it. But to each his own.
Isn't that the truth. home insurance, general liability, insurance on the tractor, side by side, fire incident rider, etc, etc ,etc
I grew up like that in Mass, and later rented a house in NH for 5 years that had the same setup. Well water, oil for heat, and septic tank. My dad put RidX down the toilet once a month and had the tank emptied every so many years and the septic guy said ours was the best tank they emptied. As has been mentioned, test your water for any bad stuff. Ours was awesome. The only problem was that after 17 years they needed to re-drill the well deeper as the water table had gone down (lots of development in the area at the time had occurred). I don't remember when but I vaguely remember the well pump needing to be replaced once.
Well water tends to be hard in terms of minerals. Unless you have problems like the sulphur mentioned, I like the taste of well water (at least the well we had in Mass and later the house I rented in NH which also had well water).
The problem with oil heat is you are dependent on the cost of oil. So your year-to-year heating costs could vary wildly. My dad had a wood / coal furnace installed that was in parallel with the oil one and we used wood most of the time to heat the water and the house. However, they removed the wood furnace when they sold the house. Don't know why.
My folks renovated houses in the 70's.
I worked alongside my Dad and I can only say, purchasing a rural home is a dream that can certainly turn in to a nightmare.
When you look, keep a notebook with you and figure out the running costs of all of these things your going to need to replace. When you start talking a furnace, a well, a septic tank, your talking real money.
Yep, I'm begging to see that. Already nixed two due to having cesspools, one with issues, vs septic. Most of the houses are 40s - 80s and in well kept condition but that still means all the other stuff is likely at least a few decades old. I mean if it had brand new pumps and septic it would be part of the sales pitch.
Not having experience with this before Im beginning to have second thoughts. Not sure how comfortable I feel potentially sinking tons of cash into a house
Read this 5 times.
Hard enough to keep a house in the suburbs in good repair. Get out on the dirt roads and there is a reason the barn is falling apart and looks like crap. And everything in the barn is rusty and the fence is usually in need of serious repair. And the front deck more often than not is in crap shape. And the windows aren't exactly weather proof and haven't been for a long time.
Just getting building materials to the property is a literal chore so most farmers just add another nail to the boards that are falling off the house. Home repairs and improvements usually amount to a summer spent slopping on a heavy coat of paint in the hopes it will weather seal the home even though it won't.
When I was in my 20s the family farm was offered to me for FREE so that someone would be living there to help keep it up. I declined in order to pay rent for an apartment in town. There was a reason I turned down what was essentially a free house and that is because renting an apartment was easier and cheaper.
The houses you describe exist here and there but usually not livable in if for sale or its one of those horder situations where the house will die with the last owner. Otherwise barns can be dilapidated but usually because they're no longer used and haven't been relevant in decades. The house may have been newly updated with millions but the barn remains as is, just part of the landscape.
Besides it's very hard to get that far out where there's not even a store near by. A buddy of mine lives upstate Pa. Dirt roads, no street lights, very few people, very few houses, no police, no fire yet 20 min away WalMart, Lowes, Hospital, Dollar General, Aldi's....
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sandsunsurf
08-12-21, 14:28
Of those three things, the one that would be a deal breaker for me is oil heat. I lived in two houses with forced air oil heat (in-ground tanks). I HATED the cost, I hated having to schedule a delivery, and I hated the soot that came through the vents.
Well water out here is hard, but good. I never have wanted or needed a water softener. I just flush the tankless water heater once a year. Same with the coffee maker.
Septics don’t bother me, all lasted longer than my parents or I ever lived in a home.
Read this 5 times.
Hard enough to keep a house in the suburbs in good repair. Get out on the dirt roads and there is a reason the barn is falling apart and looks like crap. And everything in the barn is rusty and the fence is usually in need of serious repair. And the front deck more often than not is in crap shape. And the windows aren't exactly weather proof and haven't been for a long time.
Just getting building materials to the property is a literal chore so most farmers just add another nail to the boards that are falling off the house. Home repairs and improvements usually amount to a summer spent slopping on a heavy coat of paint in the hopes it will weather seal the home even though it won't.
When I was in my 20s the family farm was offered to me for FREE so that someone would be living there to help keep it up. I declined in order to pay rent for an apartment in town. There was a reason I turned down what was essentially a free house and that is because renting an apartment was easier and cheaper. Spoken like a guy that's never really lived in the country. The reason most of those farms are run down is because they no longer provide a living for their owners. When you're trying hard to figure out to pay the bills, house upkeep falls by the wayside. For the folks that have figured out how to make a living out here, we think nothing of driving 15 miles for the mail and a cup of coffee. My hardware store and lumber yard has regular customers from an area 15 miles north on a dead end highway, 100 miles to the north on another highway, and 30 miles to the south. We get good at making lists and checking them twice, we own pickup trucks to haul shit, and BTW pretty much every lumber yard out there delivers these days. You guys can have your suburbs with all the rules. I'll be out on my deck sighting in my rifle.
Of those three things, the one that would be a deal breaker for me is oil heat. I lived in two houses with forced air oil heat (in-ground tanks). I HATED the cost, I hated having to schedule a delivery, and I hated the soot that came through the vents.
Well water out here is hard, but good. I never have wanted or needed a water softener. I just flush the tankless water heater once a year. Same with the coffee maker.
Septics don’t bother me, all lasted longer than my parents or I ever lived in a home.Oil heat is like any other heating system. Neglect it and it's going to cause you trouble. There really isn't any difference in natural/gas propane vs. oil in forced air other than the fuel. If you had soot coming in through the registers that's a system issue not really related to the oil. Now, dust and other shit in forced air systems is an issue, regardless of fuel type. The cost of oil vs. propane in most areas currently sides with oil being the cheaper fuel source when you consider that propane produces 40% less BTU's per gallon. Finding a rural area with natural gas is still pretty rare, but they are out there.
No. The water in the water table is passive, so you need the pump. Pumps are electric. I have seen back-up hand pumps kinda like the old timey well.
We have a pool so if the power goes out we use pool water to flush and I boil it on the gas grill to make it potable. Otherwise get a generator or one of those big-ass rain collectors things and use rain water if you lose power.
So we just got a pool this past spring. It’s 29,000USG and uses an ionizer so no salt and no chlorine. I was thinking of using it for a water source should some shit go down. Problem is, without power, the pump and ionizer won’t work so the water will become stagnant. Hmmmm
So we just got a pool this past spring. It’s 29,000USG and uses an ionizer so no salt and no chlorine. I was thinking of using it for a water source should some shit go down. Problem is, without power, the pump and ionizer won’t work so the water will become stagnant. Hmmmm
Better than nothing and filter can take care :)
They do say why chlorine pools are better for survival ? But pools are like boats a big pit with water you sink money into but they are nice to have :) hahahhah
As it just rained like mad and had to do a ton of cleaning :) OH JOY
Get you a couple of cats to keep outside. Feed, but don’t over feed, and pet them and they will hang around. They’ll do an excellent job at keeping the pest population away from the house.
SilverBullet432
08-12-21, 22:36
We’ve been living out in the county for about a year. I’ve been thinking of rigging up some sort of hybrid power for our water well. (We have mains 240 that it runs off of). I’m thinking solar with batteries and an inverter, but I’ve yet to do the math on everything (I’m an industrial electrician so I’ve got the know how and parts sourcing) I have also pondered about a backup storage tank/water tower type deal, but I’d have to heat trace/ insulate the heck out of it for winter time..
Spoken like a guy that's never really lived in the country. The reason most of those farms are run down is because they no longer provide a living for their owners. When you're trying hard to figure out to pay the bills, house upkeep falls by the wayside. For the folks that have figured out how to make a living out here, we think nothing of driving 15 miles for the mail and a cup of coffee. My hardware store and lumber yard has regular customers from an area 15 miles north on a dead end highway, 100 miles to the north on another highway, and 30 miles to the south. We get good at making lists and checking them twice, we own pickup trucks to haul shit, and BTW pretty much every lumber yard out there delivers these days. You guys can have your suburbs with all the rules. I'll be out on my deck sighting in my rifle.
So first Alaska is a whole different kind of country living than any country living in the lower 48. My older brother did that for 30 years, I know I'm not wired for it.
As for country living everywhere else, I only know what a bunch of my relatives know and it's a little harder for all the reasons mentioned in this thread. Now suburbia isn't perfect either but so long as you can avoid the HOA nonsense there aren't much more rules than anywhere else.
For me personally, I've found small town to be the right blend of everything. If we get locked down by a blizzard I can back pack to Wal Mart and back if I had to. My friends out the the country, the ones who haven't realized they need a serious truck or SUV, a couple times they got locked down because the roads can't be navigated.
Takes a little more self reliance and probably a younger person to pull it off. Alaska? Whole different level of self reliance.
Whiskey_Bravo
08-12-21, 22:59
So first Alaska is a whole different kind of country living than any country living in the lower 48. My older brother did that for 30 years, I know I'm not wired for it.
As for country living everywhere else, I only know what a bunch of my relatives know and it's a little harder for all the reasons mentioned in this thread. Now suburbia isn't perfect either but so long as you can avoid the HOA nonsense there aren't much more rules than anywhere else.
For me personally, I've found small town to be the right blend of everything. If we get locked down by a blizzard I can back pack to Wal Mart and back if I had to. My friends out the the country, the ones who haven't realized they need a serious truck or SUV, a couple times they got locked down because the roads can't be navigated.
Takes a little more self reliance and probably a younger person to pull it off. Alaska? Whole different level of self reliance.
If you have friends living out in the country that don't know they need a decent truck or SUV for bad weather, well they will figure it out or not.
As for needing a younger person, my closest neighbor is 82 and has come to my property more than once now with his tractor without me asking to help clear the flooded creek crossing to the back half of my property as well as school me in mesquite tree eradication. I can only hope that I am even alive at 82 let alone actually working a ranch. I see him pulling his feed trailer down the road on a regular basis to feed cattle on one of his fields and it inspires me to not be a lazy ass.
So first Alaska is a whole different kind of country living than any country living in the lower 48. My older brother did that for 30 years, I know I'm not wired for it.
As for country living everywhere else, I only know what a bunch of my relatives know and it's a little harder for all the reasons mentioned in this thread. Now suburbia isn't perfect either but so long as you can avoid the HOA nonsense there aren't much more rules than anywhere else.
For me personally, I've found small town to be the right blend of everything. If we get locked down by a blizzard I can back pack to Wal Mart and back if I had to. My friends out the the country, the ones who haven't realized they need a serious truck or SUV, a couple times they got locked down because the roads can't be navigated.
Takes a little more self reliance and probably a younger person to pull it off. Alaska? Whole different level of self reliance.
I spend part of my year in rural parts of Maryland, New Hampshire and Montana. These days it’s paved roads pretty much everywhere and usually less than an hour to a decent hardware store and grocery store. It ain’t that hard.
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In response to Arik, don't necessarily discount properties with cesspools or poor systems. If you can get concessions or a price drop in the negotiations to allow for a new system. Not a buyers market right now but you can try.
For septics in particular, a new system can be of great advantage. In my experience most folks put more thought into the doorknobs than the septic when constructing. If you can get a property you like and get it and a new system for a price that is in your budget it could be to your benefit to go that route. Scheduling is crazy everywhere right now, but actual construction can be a matter of a few days for a septic. I've gone from perc test to final in less than 2 weeks on occasion. If you intend for this to be a long term residence then it might actually be a great option.
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