Page 28 - Harnett Life Fall 2020

Buying a home with a Septic System?

Here is what you need to know!

By Martina Erdmeier
Broker/REALTOR®
Fathom Realty
“Personalized Service-Outstanding Results”

Welcome to Harnett County! If you live outside city limits, the county will perform a final inspection and create an as-

your future home will most likely have a septic system. Here built drawing to depict where each component of your system
is some useful information to keep in mind when purchasing is located. After the inspection, the county will issue an Opera-
a home with a septic system already in place. Records of all tion Permit which allows the system to be placed into use and
permits are kept with the Harnett County Department of Envi- serves as documentation that the system was installed follow-
ronmental Health. ing all applicable laws, rules and permit conditions. The opera-
tion permit should indicate the location of an area evaluated for
Here are the different kind of permits for septic systems: future repair called a “repair area.”

1. Application - The application is the initial document that is Be sure to have your agent request a copy of the Operation
sent to the county to request an evaluation for a new system or Permit form the Harnett County Department of Environmental
repair of an existing septic system. Health and verify that the size of the septic system corresponds •
2. Improvement Permit (IP) - The county will perform an eval- to the number of bedrooms of the home in order to avoid pur-
uation of the soil to determine if your property is suitable for chasing a home with an inadequate system.
a septic system. The improvement permit will provide infor- Most importantly…NEVER purchase a home without a Sep-
mation about the location and type of system you have been tic Inspection! Repairs or upgrades/replacement of an existing
approved for. system can be very costly.
3. Construction Authorization (CA) - Typically after you have
submitted a final site plan, the county will issue you an authori- Please check with the Harnett County Department of Envi-
zation to construct. This document allows you to move forward ronmental Health for further information. You may visit their
with your installation or repair and may be issued at the same website at http://www.harnett.org/health/onsite-wastewater-
time as the improvement permit. Some counties will use the section.asp
same document for both IP and CA. Har
4. Operation Permit (OP) - Once the system has been installed, nett
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