Can't decide on property, we want our cake and eat it too

[winni83]

When we built on Winnipesaukee in 2012, we were able to construct a 2,600 finished square foot two story home with a full unfinished basement on a lot of .41 acres in size with a new well and a new three bedroom septic system with an attached 2 car garage, with decks, glassed and screen in porch, paved driveway and some walkways. Because we did not want a "Box", the footprint of house is irregular with lots of angles. No variances, exceptions or waivers, but our well 75 foot radius does extend onto the abutting property and we had to sign and have recorded an acknowledgement of that fact. Our engineer, architect, septic designer and well person were comfortable with the well radius issue. Given the topography of the abutting lot, it is unlikely in the extreme that the abutter could or would put a septic within that portion of the well radius extending onto that lot. I will say that it was a somewhat tight fit with the side setbacks, such that our engineer was out three times to measure and locate the foundation (excavation, footings and frost walls) so there were no surprises later on and then an as built. Well location came down to the practical issue of where the drilling rig could reasonably get to.

[tis]

You can build a pretty good sized house on a half acre. You might have to move the well etc. but it can be done as long as the soil supports a septic system. You need to get somebody who really knows what they are doing to figure it out for you. Unless it is grandfathered you have to be 50ft. from the lake and need to leave part of the land untouched. In any event it can be done, but bottom line is you need a good professional to get the most out of the lot.

At one point we bought a half acre lot that had an existing 4 bedroom septic. If we remodeled the (two) little houses we didn't need a new septic but we wanted to put a new septic in because it was old and by doing so we were reduced to 2. I'm not sure why but it wasn't a big deal to us. But I do know people who have 3 on a half acre.

[mswlogo]

Originally Posted by tis

You can build a pretty good sized house on a half acre. You might have to move the well etc. but it can be done as long as the soil supports a septic system. You need to get somebody who really knows what they are doing to figure it out for you. Unless it is grandfathered you have to be 50ft. from the lake and need to leave part of the land untouched. In any event it can be done, but bottom line is you need a good professional to get the most out of the lot.

At one point we bought a half acre lot that had an existing 4 bedroom septic. If we remodeled the (two) little houses we didn't need a new septic but we wanted to put a new septic in because it was old and by doing so we were reduced to 2. I'm not sure why but it wasn't a big deal to us. But I do know people who have 3 on a half acre.

The lot in question is only 0.36 Acres. And the abutters are similar size.

I’ve seen buyers run from septic assessment that wasn’t as bad.

[tis]

Originally Posted by mswlogo

The lot in question is only 0.36 Acres. And the abutters are similar size.

I’ve seen buyers run from septic assessment that wasn’t as bad.

You know, I agree with you. Why go through the hassle and fights with the town and state? Just find something with a bigger lot. It's not like you have to buy that one.

[thinkxingu]

Originally Posted by tis

You know, I agree with you. Why go through the hassle and fights with the town and state? Just find something with a bigger lot. It's not like you have to buy that one.

Agreed. That's a lot of money to spend to jump through hoops AND take the risk.

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[Susie Cougar]

Yes, it seems like a money pit. I would run very fast from this one, especially at $1.2 million for a seasonal camp.

Something that I also find very curious is that you mention there is not even one closet in the entire house . It almost seems to me like they did it on purpose because of the septic issue.

[FlyingScot]

Originally Posted by Susie Cougar

Yes, it seems like a money pit. I would run very fast from this one, especially at $1.2 million for a seasonal camp.

Something that I also find very curious is that you mention there is not even one closet in the entire house . It almost seems to me like they did it on purpose because of the septic issue.

Economics on Squam are skewed in a couple of ways. First, prices are dramatically higher than on Winni (I know, seems impossible). So I was not surprised at the $1.2MM camp. Second, even at those higher prices, there is almost never anything for sale. If you google squam real estate at any particular point in time, you're likely to see fewer than 5 for sale on the entire lake--one in the $1-2MM range, one in the $3-5MM range, one above that. So even if you can afford it, and you find a home in your price range, there is only one of them, so you are going to be living with a serious drawback or two.

When we were in the market 5-6 years ago, just for example--There was the house I described before with 2.5 beds of septic for $1.3MM, and there was a $1.7MM teardown on land that was good but not great.

[mswlogo]

Originally Posted by Susie Cougar

Yes, it seems like a money pit. I would run very fast from this one, especially at $1.2 million for a seasonal camp.

Something that I also find very curious is that you mention there is not even one closet in the entire house . It almost seems to me like they did it on purpose because of the septic issue.

They did it to squeeze more space out for rental. Tenants tend not to use them. They rented it since they remodeled it. As far as anyone knew there was no septic issue until they hit the assessment back. And for some people there is no septic issue.