<p>This one looks really nice. And it’s on a river!</p>
<p>[563</a> Redding Rd - Home For Sale and Real Estate Listing - MLS #98542117 - Realtor.com](<a href=“http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/563-Redding-Rd_Redding_CT_06896_M49742-16778]563”>563 Redding Rd, Redding, CT 06896 | realtor.com®)</p>
<p>Oh my. That’s lovely.</p>
<p>Oh my. I just realized it has a cesspool.</p>
<p>Is that a deal breaker?</p>
<p>
Don’t think of it as a loss from a higher value in a previous market when it was not for sale, think rather of the profit you made compared to what you paid for it a few decades ago. The rest is all relative.</p>
<p>My understanding of cesspools is not extensive. But I believe they can be dangerous, emit noxious gases and odors, and when they fail – which they eventually will – then the homeowner is responsible for installing a septic system. That’s not cheap. It’s not a deal breaker, but it’s a huge black mark.</p>
<p>Crossposted with jym: I totally agree! It was never real profits or real money to begin with.</p>
<p>What are the environmental laws in CT relative to putting a septic field next to water? </p>
<p>In MA for example, you need to be (IIRC) 300 away from the water. I have a neighbor who had to move his leach field from the back of the house to the front because he had wetlands too close to his back yard.</p>
<p>In order to sell a property here the septic has to pass inspection, and normally the seller pays to fix any issues before the title changes hands. This could include replacing a cesspool with a real septic system.</p>
<p>There are restrictions; I’m not an expert in all of them. But, for example, on our current property – a pretty big lot, 2.02 acres – we can only put the septic in a certain, small part of the property because so much is wetlands. Wetlands in Fairfield County are a very big deal. Many many properties have wetlands, and it sometimes necessitates creativity in what you do with your house.</p>
<p>If it were a requirement to replace the cesspool with a septic, they would have done so before putting the house on the market. I believe a cesspool is grandfathered until something goes wrong with it. (And, of course, that would be on our watch!)</p>
<p>^Maybe you just plan on putting in the septic before you ever move in? Assuming of course there is a place it could go.</p>
<p>A new septic will cost about as much as a new car. Somewhere between 15K and 50+K, depending on your site and requirements.</p>
<p>There are a lot of creative things that can be done of course. At our beach house, our lot is infinitessimal … as in a back yard less than 50 x 30 feet. We have a (relatively) new pumped septic system – and that includes the tank, the pump chamber and the leaching field. We’re less than 100 yards from the high tide line – but all the mechanicals for the house and the septic are above the historic storm surge for Long Island Sound. It looks like the builder raised the level of the back yard by 2-4 feet to meet the requirements.</p>
<p>Since we’re not going to buy this, I’m now willing to post the address and the listing. There are some additional photos that I hadn’t posted before. Not surprisingly, there are very few pix of the house itself and many of the neighborhood and the river!</p>
<p>[13</a> Saw Mill Rd Weston CT - Home For Sale and Real Estate Listing - MLS #98469472 - Realtor.com](<a href=“http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/13-Saw-Mill-Rd_Weston_CT_06883_M38024-86066]13”>13 Saw Mill Rd, Weston, CT 06883 | realtor.com®)</p>
<p>Actually, a 1969 house is not that old. Perhaps its near the water causes the mold situation。Certainly it is not a good sign and will take lots of work to remove the mold. The structural problem is more of an issue. Walk away is a great move. There are reasons why the house sits there with attractive prices.</p>
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<p>Not in my experience. We put in a brand new septic system here, tank plus field plus work inside, for well under $10K. And it is a chambered system, which is not the cheapest. </p>
<p>It really depends on the land. A straightforward system is not that big a deal. A system that involves pumping it uphill adds some $$. A system that involves fill adds $$ also. Okay, maybe $15K in Fairfield County, where they gouge you for everything, but that ought to do it for a simple system. $50K has to be really, really unusual.</p>
<p>This house has over 3 acres, and most of it does not look like wetlands. I doubt it would be a problem. Always worth checking of course.</p>
<p>I’d get some bids.</p>
<p>Interesting link. This house used to be the same house that we’re walking away from, but it’s been fixed to be magnificent. It also doesn’t have the water issues the Hoarder’s House does – because apparently it wasn’t lived in by a hoarder before it was fixed up!</p>
<p>Look at this and drool: [url=<a href=“http://matrix.ct-mls.com/Matrix/Public/Portal.aspx?ID=59434584]Portal[/url”>http://matrix.ct-mls.com/Matrix/Public/Portal.aspx?ID=59434584]Portal[/url</a>]</p>
<p>Click on the MLS number to get to the house.</p>
<p>On that Tanglewood house. Why the property tax is only $11K over 1.25M property value? I thought Fairfield is a high tax county.</p>
<p>No idea. It may be the case that it was updated and improved and has not yet been re-assessed.</p>
<p>They really took that house to the max! I don’t know what the mill rate is in Westport, but I’d venture to guess that you are right about the reassessment, because the kitchen and bathrooms appear to have been redone in the last couple of years.</p>
<p>Edit: I looked it up, and mill rates in Fairfield County range widely. Westport was 17.43 in 2011. That would put the probably taxes on the place at roughly $21-22K, if it were appraised at $1.25 million.</p>
<p>^In our town (and most of the county) nothing has been reassessed since the 1950s unless you’ve done major construction work. At least in our town, they won’t up your taxes for interior improvements, but will for adding on space or additional bathrooms. Some older million dollar houses will have relatively low taxes while a brand new one will have high taxes.</p>
<p>In CT, reevaluation is required AT LEAST every ten years…but towns can elect to do this more frequently.</p>
<p>^^^^ And in my town, they have. We get reassessed every few years, it seems.</p>
<p>Update:</p>
<p>Over the weekend, we looked at three houses. One was a quaint, unique Tudor, built in 1926, that we were charmed by. The other was a second look at a saltbox, built in the 1960s, that is in a fantastic location on a great piece of property – flat one acre. Completely repainted inside and out, floors completely redone, and ready to move into immediately. (It’s vacant.) The third was a small cottage on a lake. We quickly ruled out the third one (it was too small, and the only thing going for it was the lake!), and struggled for the last 48 hours over which of the other two we’d make an offer on. </p>
<p>I’m pleased to say we’re going with the 1960s saltbox. I love the location and the property. It does need some updates – CAC, kitchen and bathrooms, plus we want to add patio, deck, etc., in the back yard. I’m excited to do this stuff. </p>
<p>But all in all, I’m very pleased. </p>
<p>I’ll post pictures, probably tonight.</p>