Owning your own home

Very common in the US but they are NOT maintenance free. You will need to ensure your loo roll is septic tank safe, amongst other things. Should be loads of stuff on Google from the US. Ask about the last time the tank was pumped and make sure you know how/when it was built. Could get expensive quick if it's wrong.

Cheers buddy.

It's a brand new place so not concerned re: the quality as it will be guaranteed for 10 years anyway.

Question is use and maintenance required. I've asked about specific system but the estate agent was adamant it didn't need emptying but trusting estate agents isn't top of my list.

No bleach down the toilet, as this will kill your beneficial septic tank-dwelling bacteria that consume your waste.

The system has two things to deal with: liquids and solids. The latter means maintenance-free is bullshit.

One of my colleagues had a house with an anaerobic digestion system under the lawn. The liquid overflow was routed into a perforated pipe under the hedge lining the (slightly downhill) driveway, which was hence permanently "watered" and fertilised. The bacteria digesting the waste produced a flammable gas which was captured in a tank for his heating system. Even with the bacteria breaking stuff down, he still had to get the solids emptied occasionally, but a local farmer did this for free, since the remaining solids were reasonably sterile and nitrogen-rich.

I would ask if it is an old fashioned septic tank or a newer water treatment style works. Newer water treatment systems tend to have to have power so that’s a give away, water treatment works produce around 95% clean water into a soak away so less likely to have any issues.

I would also ask about how the soakaway works, how long it has been there etc, as they do need to be redone every so often and it is a big messy job.

Oh, and we have an old fashioned septic tank now, don’t use any special toilet roll, don’t worry about what cleaning products we use etc... the tank has been in place for over 100 years and gets emptied every couple of years for about £150. I would check the legality of a farmer taking it away and spreading it, as fairly sure they are not meant to (I say this as a farming family)...

I think there was testing involved before each dredging, but it was a pretty stable system.

Thanks @Emyr @Sam_w @mespilus @Aroogah

Plenty of questions for the estate agent tomorrow...

It's a brand new place so not concerned re: the quality as it will be guaranteed for 10 years anyway.

Guaranteed by who?

AEDIS.

I believe it covers all structural aspects including sewage.

Whom*

Or is it who?

I'd go for whom, in that situation. However, I was never taught grammar, so go on how it sounds (despite being written down).

Do some digging, find out if they ever pay up. I’d be wary of developer / NHBC type guarantees myself.

Finding out who underwrites it might be informative.

Underwritten by Evolution Insurance Company Ltd.

Their warranties are approved by all big lenders (including our current mortgage provider) in the UK.

The new-build insurance thing... What does it cover? I had a toilet cistern leak and cause damage to all the tiles in the bathroom. Is that sort of thing covered? If so, do I go to the owner/freeholder or straight to some central scheme?

Cheers for chipping in, pretty much in line with my thinking. Feels crazy to have to consider resell before even buying. It’s a dream house in the dream location, ones that rarely come to market. I know a few folks who have knot weed and they say it’s a non issue, folks who don’t have it tend to say it’s the biggest issue in the entire world. I should have the full report next week. Home buying and selling really is joyless.

As an estate agent I've come across knotweed a lot. As you say it's not the red flag it used to be and it certainly wouldn't stop me from buying a property that has it.

Typical estate agent spiel...

I kid, thanks for the reply, the whole area I am looking to buy in appears to be quite the hot spot. I assume properties with it are harder to sell? Prob takes 10-50k off price?

Have a Google around recent developments re knotweed. I've read a few articles recently suggesting it's not the issue it used to be if a guaranteed treatment plan is in place.

There is indeed one in place. Still feel like someone has pissed in my chips. Might just be a come down though.

They can be but very much depends on the property in my experience. We had a one bed garden flat a couple of years ago and not surprisingly it was mostly first time buyers who were interested and were then terrified when they were made aware. I think the vendor ended up taking an offer but I really can't remember how much now.

Then had a house this year which attracted a different type of buyer where it wasn't quite the same reaction. That house actually achieved the asking price as well.

Anyone know a man with van south?

Mine has bailed on me for wednesday

Cheers for the info, really appreciate it. Yeah I imagine when we sell the place we haven’t even bought yet it would not be to green horns. Don’t mind pricing lowish as we’ve made ok imaginary money on our current place.