Real Estate Mini-Lesson: Buying With a Well or Septic

If you’re buying a property on an acre or more, you’ll probably have to get a well inspection, septic inspection, or both. Here’s how they work.

I’m showing a property today in Ellwood, Illinois that will need a well and septic test before it’s sold. It’s a really cool property with a big barnhouse and a lot of land.

If you’re not familiar with a property like this and the tests required, the seller typically pays for the well and septic tests. For a septic test, they’ll test for any leaks to make sure wastewater isn’t draining to anywhere except the tank.

Inspections like this are typically required on properties of an acre or more.

For the well test, they take a sample of the water and test for certain kinds of bacteria. There are always bacteria in the water, but it’s important to make sure your water softener is doing its job. When I bought my home, it had some harmful bacteria in the well. We ended up investing in a water filtration system with a UV light to kill off the harmful microbes.

You’ll get the results of the tests before closing to verify whether those systems are in good working order or not and its condition. If you’re buying any property with an acre or more, you'll most likely have a well so make sure you get it tested.

If you have questions about these inspections or anything else related to real estate, feel free to reach out via phone or email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.