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#1
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A house with a lift station?
I am looking at a property in south Florida area and there is something that
concerns me. The owner told me all the houses in the neighborhood are on septic tanks. But his house is not. His house was originally built and owned by the city engineer at the time, and he had a lift station installed on the property. He showed it to me, it looked like a well with a handle to open and close the valve. He told me this property has a direct connection to the city sewer and there is a primary pump and a back up secondary pump to pump the waster water to the main sewer line. The main sewer line is not far from the property, but the city is slow in getting them connected (he said the city has been saying they will be connected "soon" for seventeen years). He said he has someone that comes by to service/check the lift station once every quarter, and he has to go out and check to see if it is ok every month himself to make sure the pump continue to work. I am not sure of all the specifics of what is involved to check to see if the pump still works, is this a maintainance nightmare I am getting into or this is a neat feature to have? Does having a "lift station" enhance property value? MC |
#2
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I would ask:
Who owns the lift pump? Leading to who is responsible when it breaks? When the city puts in local sewers, how much will it cost me? I would talk to the city. miamicuse wrote: I am looking at a property in south Florida area and there is something that concerns me. The owner told me all the houses in the neighborhood are on septic tanks. But his house is not. His house was originally built and owned by the city engineer at the time, and he had a lift station installed on the property. He showed it to me, it looked like a well with a handle to open and close the valve. He told me this property has a direct connection to the city sewer and there is a primary pump and a back up secondary pump to pump the waster water to the main sewer line. The main sewer line is not far from the property, but the city is slow in getting them connected (he said the city has been saying they will be connected "soon" for seventeen years). He said he has someone that comes by to service/check the lift station once every quarter, and he has to go out and check to see if it is ok every month himself to make sure the pump continue to work. I am not sure of all the specifics of what is involved to check to see if the pump still works, is this a maintainance nightmare I am getting into or this is a neat feature to have? Does having a "lift station" enhance property value? MC |
#3
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Unless there were some other VERY compelling reason to
buy that particular property, I think I'd be having second and third thoughts about it. If it was a plus to have, you'd see that in the price of the house. Is the price lower/higher than expected? How about tax assessments compared to neighbors? I guess you could always opt right away to put in a septic and forget about that thing for now. Then you could do it either way, whatever happens. But I'd never feel comfortable with something I knew so little about. I understand the concept, but 17 years makes it sound like a "forget it" to me. Can you find out if there are any municipal annexations in the works? Still, I'd pass unless I could get them to drop the price by whatever a septic install was going to cost. Just my two cents. Pop "Art Todesco" wrote in message m... I would ask: Who owns the lift pump? Leading to who is responsible when it breaks? When the city puts in local sewers, how much will it cost me? I would talk to the city. miamicuse wrote: I am looking at a property in south Florida area and there is something that concerns me. The owner told me all the houses in the neighborhood are on septic tanks. But his house is not. His house was originally built and owned by the city engineer at the time, and he had a lift station installed on the property. He showed it to me, it looked like a well with a handle to open and close the valve. He told me this property has a direct connection to the city sewer and there is a primary pump and a back up secondary pump to pump the waster water to the main sewer line. The main sewer line is not far from the property, but the city is slow in getting them connected (he said the city has been saying they will be connected "soon" for seventeen years). He said he has someone that comes by to service/check the lift station once every quarter, and he has to go out and check to see if it is ok every month himself to make sure the pump continue to work. I am not sure of all the specifics of what is involved to check to see if the pump still works, is this a maintainance nightmare I am getting into or this is a neat feature to have? Does having a "lift station" enhance property value? MC |
#4
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The property owner owns the pump. He pays for it to have it serviced. I
have no idea if he owns the pipe that connects to the city sewer, since part of the pipe is under his property and part of it is not. We asked him and he does not know. I suspect if that pipe is clogged he will be responsible to have it fixed since it only inconveniences him. He did tell me there was a new house being built across the back alley, that they did not want to put in a septic tank, so they asked to see if they can connect to his lift station and pay him a monthly fee, but they declined. MC "Art Todesco" wrote in message m... I would ask: Who owns the lift pump? Leading to who is responsible when it breaks? When the city puts in local sewers, how much will it cost me? I would talk to the city. miamicuse wrote: I am looking at a property in south Florida area and there is something that concerns me. The owner told me all the houses in the neighborhood are on septic tanks. But his house is not. His house was originally built and owned by the city engineer at the time, and he had a lift station installed on the property. He showed it to me, it looked like a well with a handle to open and close the valve. He told me this property has a direct connection to the city sewer and there is a primary pump and a back up secondary pump to pump the waster water to the main sewer line. The main sewer line is not far from the property, but the city is slow in getting them connected (he said the city has been saying they will be connected "soon" for seventeen years). He said he has someone that comes by to service/check the lift station once every quarter, and he has to go out and check to see if it is ok every month himself to make sure the pump continue to work. I am not sure of all the specifics of what is involved to check to see if the pump still works, is this a maintainance nightmare I am getting into or this is a neat feature to have? Does having a "lift station" enhance property value? MC |
#5
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"miamicuse" wrote in message He did tell me there was a new house being built across the back alley, that they did not want to put in a septic tank, so they asked to see if they can connect to his lift station and pay him a monthly fee, but they declined. In theory, the design is a good one. The question is how well executed it is and what condition the equipment is in. Ejector toilets, pumping stations and the like can work very well if properly installed. I'd not take any crap from by neighbors though. |
#6
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"miamicuse" wrote in message ... I am looking at a property in south Florida area and there is something that concerns me. Does having a "lift station" enhance property value? MC It probably does not enhance anything, but I don't see it as a big negative either. My in-laws live in a small town, on the far edge, where the city sewer happens to be pretty close to the surface. All their neighbors have lift pumps for their sewers. They have a float switch tied to an alarm. If the waste level in the pit gets too deep, from a failed pump, A buzzer comes on in their house. They check the pump and buzzer once a month or so. Greg |
#7
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Not sure why you're thinking this is such a negative. Personally I'd much
rather have a sewer (even with a 'lift station') than septic. -Tim "Pop" wrote in message ... Unless there were some other VERY compelling reason to buy that particular property, I think I'd be having second and third thoughts about it. If it was a plus to have, you'd see that in the price of the house. Is the price lower/higher than expected? How about tax assessments compared to neighbors? I guess you could always opt right away to put in a septic and forget about that thing for now. Then you could do it either way, whatever happens. But I'd never feel comfortable with something I knew so little about. I understand the concept, but 17 years makes it sound like a "forget it" to me. Can you find out if there are any municipal annexations in the works? Still, I'd pass unless I could get them to drop the price by whatever a septic install was going to cost. Just my two cents. Pop "Art Todesco" wrote in message m... I would ask: Who owns the lift pump? Leading to who is responsible when it breaks? When the city puts in local sewers, how much will it cost me? I would talk to the city. miamicuse wrote: I am looking at a property in south Florida area and there is something that concerns me. The owner told me all the houses in the neighborhood are on septic tanks. But his house is not. His house was originally built and owned by the city engineer at the time, and he had a lift station installed on the property. He showed it to me, it looked like a well with a handle to open and close the valve. He told me this property has a direct connection to the city sewer and there is a primary pump and a back up secondary pump to pump the waster water to the main sewer line. The main sewer line is not far from the property, but the city is slow in getting them connected (he said the city has been saying they will be connected "soon" for seventeen years). He said he has someone that comes by to service/check the lift station once every quarter, and he has to go out and check to see if it is ok every month himself to make sure the pump continue to work. I am not sure of all the specifics of what is involved to check to see if the pump still works, is this a maintainance nightmare I am getting into or this is a neat feature to have? Does having a "lift station" enhance property value? MC |
#8
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miamicuse wrote:
I am looking at a property in south Florida area and there is something that concerns me. The owner told me all the houses in the neighborhood are on septic tanks. But his house is not. His house was originally built and owned by the city engineer at the time, and he had a lift station installed on the property. He showed it to me, it looked like a well with a handle to open and close the valve. He told me this property has a direct connection to the city sewer and there is a primary pump and a back up secondary pump to pump the waster water to the main sewer line. The main sewer line is not far from the property, but the city is slow in getting them connected (he said the city has been saying they will be connected "soon" for seventeen years). He said he has someone that comes by to service/check the lift station once every quarter, and he has to go out and check to see if it is ok every month himself to make sure the pump continue to work. I am not sure of all the specifics of what is involved to check to see if the pump still works, is this a maintainance nightmare I am getting into or this is a neat feature to have? Does having a "lift station" enhance property value? MC You have a lot of good answers on this post, but I will add my two cents. The lift pump is your connection to the sewer system. Otherwise this house would be on a septic system. Although septic systems last for years, they can have problems and they must be integrated into all future changes in your yard and house. Replacing or repairing septic systems is not an inexpensive proposition. The lift pump, OTOH, is all one would have to worry about with a lift station. If it works, everything is fine and your effluent flows to the city sewer where it is their problem to maintain. Replacing a lift pump, by comparison, is a small investment financially. If it were my choice, and I liked everything else about the house, I would not let this item change my mind. You would have a house on city sewer (no septic), with a pump (which are very reliable) being the only difference. -- Robert Allison Rimshot, Inc. Georgetown, TX |
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