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Since this is "THE house hunting thread" and not specifically one person's by name, may I interject my own house hunting situation?

Yes!!

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Does this sound like something worth pursuing?

I don't know, the septic issue is something I have zero knowledge of. But although the house sounds great in many ways, this:

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It is just a couple of blocks from a hospital, and in the disclosure they said there can be life flight helicopters coming in at very low altitude at any time of day or night.

There are some pretty junky properties on either side of this property--trailers and trash, etc. But they are only visible from the street, as this house has quite tall fences obscuring them. Still, it could get noisy from having multiple neighbors to either side.

would give me pause...

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Or am I just exhausted and desperate to make something work after looking off and on for over three years?

Probably yes. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't consider the house... I don't know, if the septic is fixable, great, but I'm not so sure about the neighborhood details.

Pique-

I suggest you proceed slowly on this one. Lots of red flags.

A trip to the city offices might be in order before you make any decisions.

SK... thanks for letting me butt in.

Steve, I will do so, but also would like to know what you consider red flags here.

Also I invite you to take a look at what is for sale in Missoula for under $650k. There's a lot of compromising to be done.

I need a place to write with a sense of privacy and separateness from the rest of the house, so most ranch style houses won't cut it. Mr. Pique really wants a workshop, so we need a garage. And ideally we can bring the horses home from boarding if there is an illness or injury that needs my daily care--though of course we'll let that one go if we have to--so finding an acre in town is huge.

It can't be on or close to a very busy road, because of the dogs, and also because I would hate living on a busy road. And of course the dogs need a yard big enough to play frisbee in.

The proximity of this house both to the horse park and the dog parks is a huge selling point for me.

Overall, unless you have over a million dollars to spend, the housing stock in Missoula pretty much sucks. Whatever we get is going to have to be a project. People are moving here in droves from out of state. And they have money the locals don't have. It's becoming an expensive place to dine out, too.

In many ways it would be so much easier to just stay where we are. But it not only isn't sustainable, and is impractical, it just isn't how I want to live any more. We just don't have adequate medical, veterinary, or other resources where we are. And the days when we can do barn chores every day are numbered.

The biggest question is how that house sat there for 74 years without a permit for the septic system. I’d like to know how the city answers that question and what you’ll have to do about it.

Is the septic system functional now? Why are you getting quotes to replace it? Has anyone done a perc test? The reason I ask is I wonder if the septic system was never signed off was a proper system is not possible on that property due to rocks or something.

Then I’d like to know if there are any permits on the house itself and if they were ever signed off and how the city feels about that as well. Did it always have two living rooms?

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We've been told by the seller's agent to not even think of offering less than $650k

I daresay she told people that when it was listed for $800K as well.

It may be the best deal in town, but you’ll have to decide that while you figure out why no one has snapped it up. I’d certainly make the offer contingent on your acceptance of inspection reports - and I’d get plenty.

Pique, I think I found photos of the house you are looking at online (back when you first mentioned it) by looking for rentals. It was up on Zillow as a rental for a little while (though no longer), but it’s still up on another site. I can send you the link if you want. I’m assuming you can keep your horse there? Edit - I just sent you the link.

Thank, Jodi! Here's the link to the house in question:

https://www.apartments.com/290...missoula-mt/pf5l1rt/

Yes, horses are allowed

Steve, the short answer to your questions is that the house is in the county, not the city, and in 1958 or whatever that was such a rural area that it was not uncommon for septic systems to go in without a permit or inspection. So it is grandfathered in.

So far as we know it is working at the moment, though we didn't try running water all over the house or flushing toilets. If it isn't working it should have been in the disclosure.

My thoughts after seeing how much rent they want: anyone who can afford that rent is going to have plenty of lawsuit firepower when the septic fails.

More pics here:

https://www.realtor.com/reales...T_59804_M85324-52018

I can see why you're interested. It seems like a really nice house.

further answers to steve:

I'm pretty sure the second living room is an addition. What would have controlled what can and can't be done at this location is subdivision covenants, but there are none in this case.

This area is not known for having rocky soil. In fact the area is still full of farms because the county is zoning to protect ag lands in the urban interface--this is the bottom of Glacial Lake Missoula and is wonderful silty loam, typically, in this part of the valley.

If we can even get in an offer, and if it is even accepted, we would definitely hire an engineering firm to do a feasability study on a new septic and also call the health department to get a preview of what they would allow where on the property.

Meanwhile, we're going to look at another house at 6 pm tonight:

https://www.zillow.com/homedet...&utm_source=txtshare

That’s a nice house. I can see why you like it.

That front room is an addition, probably early 1990’s judging by the triangular windows at the peak. The rest of the house looks like no one messed with it much - which I’d consider a plus.

If the county doesn’t care about the septic system then maybe you don’t either. I didn’t realize other houses were so close - if they have working septic systems then it’s likely you do too - or can at least build one.

Looking at the median price in that town I’d say what they’re asking is in the hunt. Still wonder why it didn’t sell, though.

Really like the second one, pique. The property is lovely .

I'm pretty sure Steve is salivating over that garage and workshop....

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Originally posted by Steve Miller:
That’s a nice house. I can see why you like it.

That front room is an addition, probably early 1990’s judging by the triangular windows at the peak. The rest of the house looks like no one messed with it much - which I’d consider a plus.

If the county doesn’t care about the septic system then maybe you don’t either. I didn’t realize other houses were so close - if they have working septic systems then it’s likely you do too - or can at least build one.

Looking at the median price in that town I’d say what they’re asking is in the hunt. Still wonder why it didn’t sell, though.

Because initially they were asking too much, and they did get lots of offers for less, but they wouldn't come down. Then they started dropping the price by increments, over months, but when they were offered less than asking they still wouldn't budge. The seller's agent put in a lot of work preparing offers and trying to negotiate, only to have the sellers shoot them all down.

I'm thinking that they must have put in a lot of money into the remodel and want to get their money back out of the house. And they think if they rent it out long enough the market will catch up to their outlay.

They clearly aren't thinking critically or creatively about this. I mean, get what you can get and then reinvest it to get more, is how I think. But some people just want what they want and shoot themselves in the foot.

I think if they had started out asking their final asking price, they would have had a bidding war.

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Originally posted by wtg:
Really like the second one, pique. The property is lovely .

I'm pretty sure Steve is salivating over that garage and workshop....

so is mr. pique!

I have always wanted a property with a running creek. The ditch is like having a seasonal creek. Plus there are water rights that convey with the property.

also, steve, i think people were turned off by the lack of a septic permit, and the price did not reflect the issues with the septic. mr pique at first said "forget it" as soon as he heard about the septic. but then we went to see it in person....

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Originally posted by Steve Miller:
If the county doesn’t care about the septic system then maybe you don’t either. I didn’t realize other houses were so close - if they have working septic systems then it’s likely you do too - or can at least build one.

There's an acre of land, so very likely one can be built, and if it can't then we walk away. The county DOES care--now. They didn't care 60 years ago. Very likely it's a cesspool and would never meet requirements today. I'm also concerned that the well could have been contaminated. We need to locate it and the drainfield. We don't know where either of them are.