Property advice

[cams2705]

I'm looking at purchasing a 7 acre piece of property in central PA as my retirement property I will eventually build a home on in the next couple years.  It already has a passed and approved perc test for a raised mound septic system.  It is vacant land that was agricultural in the past with the remnants of what appears to be a small stable on one corner of the property.  All that remains of that stable is some crumbling pieces of the concrete foundation.  Also at this location of the property is a well that I assume was used to water whatever animal that used to be on this property (horse, I think).  Is there anything that would be wrong with using this same well for my house in the future, given that the water passes testing?

Given the unknown nature of the well, what would you do with pricing?  Would you demand a testing of the well be done as a contingency of the sale?  I could see if the well doesn't pass, I would most likely deduct ~$15K from the offer given a new well would have to be drilled and costs to abandon the old well properly to prevent contamination of the water table.

Thoughts?

[JGrout]

if an existing well on the property has  not been tested very recently (as in upon putting the property up for sale) I certainly would make it contingent on suitability and potability  for human consumption....... also have it checked for available flow and if it can be drawn dry and the recovery time 

Joe

[Jack in omaha]

rite offer contingent on satisfactory well test then if problems are found use that to negotiate much lower price just explain you need water no well drops value by huge amount unless a workable solution is at hand

[daddo]

Strange, my son just today called us from the Pittsburgh area trying to talk us into buying property around the same area for retirement. Beautiful up there. There are areas between McConells and Gettysburg I really liked.

It wouldn't take much influence for us to do so.

The water is known for lead there and contaminants in some areas- a test is a must.

[Snipe Hunter]

A well and water quality test is a standard contingency for purchase. It might be a shallow, low yield well if it was just dug for livestock. You'll certainly want a yield test.

[Admiral]

You should get a well guy out there to evaluate the status; as pointed out, depth in comparison to the ability of the well to draw and not exhaust supply and go dry for periods is important.  +1 on the comment it was drilled for ag use, and cost increases with depth, its likely just minimally deep enough to get the job done.  Age is important too, as aquifers ebb and flow, and 40 or 50 years ago the level could have been higher. And no matter how rural, a full water test should be done, including volatile organic chemicals, as in the past fudge were not so particular about what was disposed of, and where.  I used to work on Superfund sites, and many I worked on were in rural areas where industrial waste was just dumped into pits and covered over.  Even "normal" hazardous waste like old gas, oil, paint thinners were, in the past, just dumped on the ground without a second thought. Sounds paranoid, but you have an existing well, and don't have to drill a test well, so get it tested properly.  Check out the CDC website here:   https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/drinkin...sting.html

[Snipe Hunter]

Keeping in mind..

If you need a new well and it's on a known aquifer of good yield, get a quote for a new well and deduct that price from your offer. Work from there. Around here, 18-20 grand gets you a new well.

[CLETUS]

Just a guess, it is a shallow well.

[TDKPE]

Contingency on the well being usable would be advised, and the well company could probably tell you if drilling the existing well deeper is an option if the quality is good but recharge is too slow. It may be shallow for livestock as postulated, and if cased properly and all that (which it may not be), relatively cheaply drilled deeper. Something to consider as a negotiating point, but requiring input from a well driller.

[Robert Adams]

Basically what has already been said. That well is most likely less than 100' and I'd bet probably only 20' or so. Usually when you are selling property like this you are just selling property you aren't selling a house or other livable type property so most likely the sellers won't deduct anything from the selling price if it needs a well for you to use the property for what you want to use it for as that's your problem they are just selling a piece of land. Basically buy it or don't buy it what you want to do with it isn't the sellers problem.

       That said wells can be very expensive. Price varies allot depending on location. Here the going rate is $25 a foot and the preferred well depth it's 400' to 700' or deeper if you can afford it. The days of a 200' cutting it are gone. As many with Wells that depth have had to have theirs deepened in recent years. 
          Also go with the biggest diameter you can as well.
  
           I have a 4" diameter 100' well which puts out a max of 6 gpm and a minimum of 3gpm at the end of a very hot summer with no rain all summer. Being 4" it has to be a jet pump as submersibles that size are exorbitantly expensive and rare. It would produce much more with one while using less power but as its for watering the yard I'm not spending any more on it. 


         If it were me and I liked the property and would do I'd go for it and have a well drilled for the house. Then if the other well is usable for irrigation etc I'd plunk a windmill on it just for the cool factor (if possible). I would not plan on using that existing well for the house but that's just me.  

        LOMLs sister passed up on a really nice house and property because the current owner had a cistern and used rainwater for the house. Had a great treatment system etc. The house had 4 wells on the property and all they had to do was have a well tested to see if it was a good well but they didn't want to so they ended up with a place nowhere near as nice...