Here’s the scene, if you don’t properly build and maintain a septic system, you could end up contaminating your ground water and your well. If this happens, the fact that you were able to buy cheap land that you could actually afford won’t seem so appealing. You could end up costing yourself quite a bit in the long run.

Did you know that a septic system should be pumped out every once in a while? To extend the time between pumping (some do it often, some rarely do it at all) you can purchase and use any number of septic tank additives. Keep your septic in good shape to ensure long term workability, protect your groundwater, and ensure you can easily sell your home when you are ready to do so. Other tips on maintenance? Don’t park cars on your drainage field. Find out where it is if you don’t know. Don’t plant shrubs or trees near it or the septic lines. Check your drainage field once in a while to ensure you see no raw sewage. Run a garbage disposal as little as possible. Spread out your laundry. It’s hard on a septic to run many loads one after another. Don’t put chemicals or cleaners, or paint products down your sink.

WHAT DOES A SEPTIC SYSTEM CONSIST OF?

A septic system consists of a pipe from your home, a tank, (could be fiberglass, concrete, or polyethylene) a drain-field, and of course the microbes in the soil. (They remove the contaminants from waste water before they reach the ground water) The waste goes into the tank, and it holds the waste water long enough for the solids to settle out and the oil and grease to float to the surface. Compartments and “T” shaped outlets in the tank allow the sludge and scum from leaving the tank, while things continue to break down. It is the scum that builds up in the tank, and “T” shaped outlets that make it necessary to call a septic company to come pump out the tank once in a while.

If you own steep or rocky property, or land close to a river or stream, a standard septic system might not be adequate enough. In these cases, it could be determined by your perk text and by your county planning department that you might need the next step up from a standard or conventional system. In some cases, there are so many septic systems nearby that the county could require an alternative system as well. These systems use new technology, and might need special maintenance. Some of these systems use sand, peat, or plastic media instead of soil, to promote waste water treatment.

THREE TYPES OF SEPTIC SYSTEMS

If you are putting in a septic system, the county will require what is called a “perk test”. This helps determine what type of system you need. It requires having a couple test holes dug on your land. There are basically three types of septic systems. Your land may be fine with a conventional or standard system. If not, it might need an alternative system. There are many variations of the alternative system. Probably the most commonly used is the sand trap filter system. There are also proprietary systems that use sand, drip systems, and different filter systems that use textile materials.

We suggest you find a few good septic installers and get quotes. Find the person that feels right and have them determine what you need, then get it approved by the county, and properly installed. It’ll run you money for permits. In Klamath County currently a standard septic permit runs about $500 and it could go as high as $1000 for a permit for an alternative or proprietary system. Standard systems average $5000-$7500, and an alternative system could run $7500-$15000. A Proprietary system could be more. So, since this is a major expense, you want to ensure that you build what is needed for the conditions of the land, the size of home, and the number of people that intend to live on the land. Then, make sure you maintain it properly. I trust our “Septic Systems for Dummies” post helps you understand septic systems better!

Good luck, and enjoy your new or future home.

Often times, surveys were done years ago. It can be hard to locate corner markers and pins to verify the exact boundaries of your land. Even with proper maps, and a long tape measure, finding the boundaries of a plot of land can often take some doing.  If your land is located on the intersection of two roads, and your lot is 200’ by 500’, you can measure out from the intersection down one road for 200’ and down the other 500’ leaving only one remaining corner marker to find. Building in this case, without a resurvey, is probably a safe bet.

However, imagine that you are the 6^th parcel down the road, with 200’ road frontages. You can measure out 1200’ and possibly find the first corner marker, maybe the second one at 1400’.  How are you going to find the back pins? Often times the pins are hidden, missing, or buried. Possibly a metal detector could help you, but you’ll be looking for quite some time unless you have a transit to shoot the correct angle, especially if there are trees and elevation changes involved.

I’ve seen people put in a drive and pad, over the edge of their property boundary. I’ve seen people build a home over their boundary line or too close to it. I’ve also seen people take all the trees out around their boundary lines only to find out half of them were from their neighbor’s lot! These things can result in issues that must be resolved when discovered. It could end up with the need to buy the adjacent parcel, or moving your building or road, not to mention handling the ramifications of the legal aspects with the owner of the adjacent land parcel. Not fun. If you are buying on terms and making payments for your land, and improving your land before it’s paid in full, this also can bring in legal aspects with not only the adjacent owner but the party you are buying the land from.

It is best to simply KNOW BEFORE YOU GO. Get a resurvey. They are not that expensive. If you happen to find an amazing deal and you end up buying really cheap land, don’t make a very costly mistake and build in the wrong spot. It is GREAT insurance if you are going to improve your land, and one of the first things I’d recommend doing.  It’s necessary to be in the right place, on the correct parcel of land before taking any action on improvements.  Use the yellow pages or Google to find surveyors in that area, and get some quotes on a resurvey. Give the surveyor your legal description or county map code and they’ll be able to help you. Enjoy the process of improvement on your land by doing it right from the start.

Thanks for checking out our article on land surveys. Before you leave, you may be interested in checking out my latest article called Septic Systems For Dummies.

If you are going to buy sight unseen, you could end up with a “pig in a poke” without an option to switch equity to anther parcel if you don’t like it when you actually see the land. Check on ownership at the county, paid taxes, deeded road access, zoning, flooding issues, covenants, etc. Find out if you can have animals and the number and sizes if you want to raise animals. Check what type of soil there is on the land and the weather conditions in the area, if you want to grow. Do your homework. Make some calls. Check a referral or two if the seller has any. Ask questions. Find out about what it takes to improve.  Ask about well depths, water quality, septic systems (be sure and check out our article called Septic Systems For Dummies), permits and building issues.  Is power close? Are you going to live “off grid?”  How far to the nearest town with a hospital?

Most sellers will use some type of Agreement for Sale of Real Estate, which is also called a Land Sales Contract.  The original contract can be recorded at the county seat where the land is.  A recorded deed however, would be better.  In Oregon, a Warranty Deed is the best deed you can get for land. In California, they use a Grant Deed. Check with the state in which the land exists to determine the best deed to use.  Once you are recorded at the county seat, you can deal with the Planning Department directly and not have to go through your seller, to start your permit process for building.

If you are buying on terms, you can ask the buyer for a deed, which he notarizes and records. In return, you give the seller a Trust Deed which you notarize and record. The Trust Deed states that yes, you may have the deed on the property, but you must make “such and such” payments for so long.  In this instance, you give the seller a Promissory Note that must be held with the Trust Deed and eventually sent to the title company used as the Trustee between buyer and seller listed on the TD.  This is only sent at the end of the contract when paid in full. The trust deed has a “Request for full reconveyance” portion, to be signed by the seller and used when all obligations have been paid. So, the seller would sign that reconveyance on the TD and the title company then, with the Promissory Note in hand, would reconvey, or take away the TD, stating “paid in full.”  This would be recorded at that time by the title company, with the county recorder, now showing no encumbrances against the land.

Most of our buyers buy sight unseen, so what my wife and I offer, is an option to switch equity to another parcel if people are not 100% happy when they view their land. Once people view their land and verify they do NOT want to switch, this is the time we recommend getting the Warranty Deed, Trust Deed, and Promissory Note done. If you record your deeds before you see the land, then don’t like it, you’ll have to spend more money to record the changes.

However, it is NOT that expensive to use a title company to collect and disperse the funds, give Title Insurance, and verify clear title and ownership with no liens or encumbrances. The only suggestion here is to deal with a title company in the specific county where the land exists. You could probably get a full escrow in most counties in Oregon for land under 25K for around $550/$600. Title insurance can be obtained for the amount that you pay for the land. By getting title insurance, you are protecting yourself from any past claims on the land by others.

That being said, a LOT of cheap land is bought and sold direct, between buyer and seller without a title company.

I suggest this only if you know and trust the seller, have been giving great references prior, and/or you’ve done enough research to trust the seller.  Ask for references, check with the BBB if you like, or ask the seller which title company is used,  and if he can give you a reference, possibly the name of the person he/she works with at such and such a title company. Most land sellers have many happy buyers. You might also talk to a few of them.

If you would like to buy the land with no costs other than the down payment, ensure you ask the seller if there are any other fees. Often times they include “application” or “start-up” fees for a few hundred dollars. You might also ask them if they bought a policy of title insurance on the land. Most land buyer/sellers do. If so, ask for a copy. You can ask for proof of Deed, but it’s best to go direct to the county assessor with the name of the seller and legal description and county number. In some counties it is an “R” number, short for the longer map code, and in some states, like California, it is an APN number. (Assessor’s Parcel Number)    Here you can find out the last recorded bit of information on the property. It’ll show who’s deeded, what the buyer paid, when, if taxes are up to date, etc.

If you are paying in full, get a deed. Preferably a warranty deed if you are in Oregon. In California, they like a grant deed.  DO RECORD YOUR DEED at the county in which the land exists once you make the transaction. If you are buying on terms, there are different ways to handle this, however, that will be the subject of another article.

Check on one of the next few blog posts for information on how you can protect yourself while buying on terms.

This is where the backup generator comes into play.  If you happen to have a few days in a row without any sun and you are relying on solar energy, you’ll need a way to recharge your battery bank.  Running a generator during these “dark” times can supply you with enough power for your needs while charging your batteries at the same time.

When people are looking into purchasing a generator, they often wonder if they should buy one that runs on gas, propane, or diesel fuel.  Let’s take a minute and discuss all three options.

We’ll talk about gasoline powered generators first.  Models in this category tend to be the least expensive to purchase but there are some factors that add to their “operating costs”.  A gasoline powered generator has some distinct disadvantages.  First, most of them are very loud!  With the exception of a few Honda and Yamaha models, these generators need to run at around 3600 RPM’s to provide the necessary voltage you’ll need.  Because they need to run at nearly full throttle, they aren’t very fuel efficient and running at such high RPMs means that you’ll need to perform more frequent oil changes and maintenance.  They typically have a shorter life span than a diesel generator.

Another annoying issue associated with gas powered units is that you’ll have to purchase gas in multiple, small five gallon containers.  Gasoline also doesn’t store well and will go stale if you keep it around too long.  If you leave old, untreated gasoline in a generator, you might find that it won’t start when you need it to due to varnish accumulation in the carburator from the stale gasoline.

Next let’s take a look at propane powered generators.  These units are appealing to many people because they can have propane delivered in bulk quantities.  When you set up a propane generator, you also don’t have the hassle of buying and storing gasoline which can be a bit of a problem.   The big disadvantage of propane powered units is that propane produces less energy per gallon when burned.  We won’t get into the details in this article but just understand that a propane generator will have a tendency to be less fuel efficient than gas or diesel generators as a general rule.

Now, we’ll have a look at diesel generators.  The initial purchase price of these generators tends to be higher than both the gas and propane units but you’ll actually end up saving money down the line if you choose to go this route.  Diesel engines can produce more power at lower RPM’s than both gasoline or propane powered engines.  This means that they are more fuel efficient, need less maintenance, and have a longer lifespan. A good diesel generator can usually putt along at a low RPM and sip fuel while runs as apposed to a gasoline engine that needs to run much faster while gulping the gasoline down.

Another advantage of running on diesel is that like propane, you can have bulk quantities delivered and you may be able to purchase farm diesel to which will save your a bit of money.  Some people even make their own bio-diesel from recycled cooking oil they get for free from local restaurants to power their diesel backup generators.

Hopefully this article helped you see some of the pro’s and con’s of the various types of fuel used to power off grid backup generators.  Be sure and visit our blog again for more helpful articles that are soon to come!

You’re not going to want to miss what is soon to come. You’ll find great articles about living on the land we sell as well as articles on topics like, getting permits from the county, having a septic system dug, having a well dug, weather conditions in the area, and more.

Hope to see you again real soon!

Most Sincerely,

Michael Long

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Last modified: June 9th, 2011