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Q's and A's
In this new section of our web site we will be answering your unique real estate questions.  If your question is of general interest to the public, we may post it but we won't use your full name and address.  The answers are our opinion of what the correct answer is but are not to be construed to be legal or binding advice.  This page is for general information only.

 
Q.  I have lived in the county (Madison) for six years.   I have a well and septic tank but city water is now available on my street.  Will I have to hook onto the city water before I can sell my house?  Doug in Harvest
A.   NO - is the short answer to your question.

However, if you ask, "Should I connect to city water?"
The answer is almost certainly, yes.  There are at least four reasons for this.

1. Increasing your pool of potential buyers.  It is probable that the purchaser of your property will want to obtain financing on the property.  If they want to obtain a government loan such as VA or HUD loans, or most types of conforming conventional loans, the lender will require that the property be connected to public water supplies, if it
is reasonably available.  Obviously, you can always elect not to accept an offer contingent upon that type of financing, but the magic rule for selling your property for the highest price is to have the largest possible pool of potential purchasers competing against each other.  Since over 80% of purchasers finance all or a portion of the purchase price this reason alone would be good reason to connect to public water.

2. Reason number 2.  Assuming that water from your well tests as being of good quality (likely since well water sometimes is of better quality than public water), and almost all purchasers will require that the well be tested.  This testing often will be the responsibility of the seller. Depending upon the type of testing done, this can sometimes be as expensive as connecting to the public water system.

3. Perception.  Many of today's younger and more urban population have never experienced the pleasure of having a cool drink of fresh water from a well or spring.  All they have ever experienced is the heavily processed product from an urban water supply.  They do not know what
they are missing, and this is also probably the reason for the current popularity of purchased bottled water.  Their perception of well water is usually the few news stories they have heard about localized ground water contamination by chemicals and bacteria.  An unwarranted reservation may be held by these purchasers when considering the
purchase of the property.  Finally they may also think that maintaining any pumps, filters, holding systems, and the possibility of being without water when there is no power may be too much cost and effort.  Often this is also a misconception.

Finally, if you were to ask me the correct course of action, I would recommend connecting to the public water system and also leave my well system in place.  There are several economical ways to do this.  You have then turned what may have been perceived by the public as a negative
factor associated with the property into a definite positive extra.  They will always have an alternative water source for emergencies.  Additionally, they can use the well water for landscape maintenance, swimming pools, washing cars, waste water systems, and other activities that may not require potable water.  The purchaser may reduce his public water usage to the minimum billing level required by the water system, since you only pay for what you use from the public system.  And if you have good quality water you may be able to show someone why a long cool drink of water has often made it into song lyrics.

 

This opinion is provided for information purposes only, your specific circumstance may vary.  Northcutt Realty, Inc., it's agents and owners assume no responsibility for the accuracy, correctness, or applicability of this information.

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