This episode provides technical guidance on evaluating septic feasibility using publicly available soil overlays in Land ID, addressing how color-coded soil classifications mislead without detailed analysis of excess water indicators, how proximity to wetlands extends far beyond visible boundaries through soil contamination, and when percolation test requirements vary by region based on MLS listing patterns and local realtor expertise.
Key Takeaways:
- Soil Colors Mean Nothing Without Clicking Each Zone Identical colors in Land ID can represent dramatically different septic viability, excess water warnings only appear in individual soil classification details that require precise boundary mapping.
- Wetlands Contaminate Soil Far Beyond Visual Boundaries Flood zones and wetland areas create “excess water” designations in surrounding soils that extend buildable area restrictions well past the obvious environmental features visible on satellite imagery.
- Existing Improvements Trump Soil Science Guesswork Finding structural improvements on the same soil classification within a few miles provides stronger septic approval confidence than theoretical overlay analysis, reducing soil scientist costs for initial feasibility.
Listen to the full technical breakdown of soil overlay interpretation, regional percolation test requirements, and when to hire soil scientists versus relying on comparable property analysis.
(Podcast transcript below)
Hey, Chris Duff here at Serious Land Capital, Vacant Land Funding Partner. So today I was recording some tutorial videos for the upcoming land pricer AI software. And a longer one that I was doing was related to determining soil suitability for septic tests using
publicly available soil overlays that you might generally find on mapping software like land ID or similar solutions. So there’s a bit more nuance to this than you would expect. So, you know, to back up a moment, really when it comes down to, you know,
considering end buyers for properties. Many that we’ll look at are, and most folks within the land flipping industry, probably more than half of them, or even a much larger percentage are going to be targeted for some type of structural improvement as for an end buyer, whether that’s residential or commercial.
those are going to be the most typical use cases, for, many, end buyers. And, even if there’s an avenue to sell a certain property where it might be more oriented towards recreational or just pure agricultural use, for instance,
It’s only going to help the value if an end buyer has the option, at least, to add some type of structural improvement, especially one that can be inhabited for a longer period of time comfortably. know, land, if you mess up your underwriting and you’re stuck with property and you’ve only got one end use case.
You can’t really cash flow it. You just have to find a way to move it or try to cut your losses and sell at a severe, severe discount potentially, which we’ve experienced in the past. Land is ultimately a risky business. That’s why the returns are higher, higher the risk, higher the reward. Never forget that.
So whenever you can have a option for multiple different use cases for a parcel of land, that’s only going to help your situation for expanding the end buyer pool and reducing some of the downside for moving a property. So the vast majority of those buyers that might have some
structural improvement when it comes to handling wastewater, you really only have two options, either a sewer line or a septic system. know, sewer lines are probably the most difficult infrastructure to have in place. You’re rarely going to see those outside of major subdivisions or HOA.
communities are much closer to established cities, especially within city limits. Even if they’re smaller cities around the country, that’s usually where you’re going to see sewer. Anything outside of those, you’re really looking for possible septic installations, which is the vast majority of the time. Unless you like exclusively investment fill lots.
And even then, oftentimes, septic is going to be utilized around the country. I’d say sewer is available in less than one out of 10 of all deals that we fund, just to give you an idea. So a lot of the time, you’re going to be looking for the possibility to install septic. First,
While every area is different, usually in most areas of the country, you’re going to need at least a half acre for septic installation. It can be smaller if there’s public water available, but if you need to dig a well and install septic, usually a half acre, it’s going to be the minimum required. But again, you want to check the local regulations. Don’t take my word for it as gospel across the country because it’s not.
Um, but you know, that, should be your, you know, ground rule for, uh, when you should be suspecting whether septic is feasible or not. You know, if you have, uh, a property that’s under a half acre and, and, um, doesn’t have sewer readily available to it, then you have to consider, okay, where’s the nearest sewer and is there a, you know, extension that, um, uh,
that you need to put into place to handle the wastewater there, which can get extremely expensive, extremely quickly. And those are often lemons on the market. And you can get fooled by sellers trying to move from those properties. That’s another story. We have a lot more details about that to share too. But assuming you can have the…
or enough acreage to sustain a septic system, then if you don’t already have a seller who has an installed septic system on the lot, or they have a septic permit already, or maybe they have an existing soil test, those are all great questions to ask initially. But if none of those are unfiled, none of them have been done, then you really need to assess it as just a raw lot and see would the soil…
allow for a septic installation. So taking land ID is kind of the primary tool that most people are using for mapping and assessing this. When you turn on the soil overlay within land ID, it’s going to turn your screen into a whole bunch of different colors, really ranging from the colors of the rainbow of red to the dark greenish.
color spectrum and unfortunately there’s not a key rhyme or reason for what might be good soil for septic systems just based on color alone. Sometimes you think green is good, red is bad, it’s not always the case. You really need to click on each individual area of soil to be able to assess
whether there’s potentially excess water, which is more common if there are wetlands or flood zones nearby and land ID will indicate whether there’s excess water for that particular soil overlay. So that’s usually a key thing that you’re looking out for and a bigger warning sign. But to start with, I would look for the anticipated primary building area.
or maybe there’s multiple building areas for the lot that you’re looking in and see what is the, precise soil overlay for that, particular property. And it’s easy to get confused because, there can be multiple different soil types that are the exact same color and exactly next to each other. And some might be excess water and not suitable for.
a septic installation or conventional systems and some, is totally fine. So, you you really want to map out and check, okay, what is that soil code that is actually associated with that buildable area and then try to follow the contoured lines and see, you know, are there any other structural improvements in the area?
that are included in this same soil type. And that’s probably going to be the biggest hint that you’re not going to have to worry about getting a septic system installed in that particular area. It’s not guaranteed, but it’s a very strong hint that that’s going to be the case. Now, if your elevation changes significantly within that particular area, that can make things more challenging.
that would up your consideration for hiring soil scientists in order to assess it further. But that’s usually the first step. So in the flip side, if I’m seeing in the key building area for a parcel and there’s no other improvements that are contained within that specific soil type,
And it doesn’t necessarily need to be that exact spot. You know, like let’s say I have a AED soil designation. I might look for other AEDs in the, I don’t know, surrounding, you know, few mile radius if I knew to, depending on the area and see, okay, are there other structural improvements in a different subset of AED soil, even if it’s not the exact same one that my property is within.
that’s still going to lower the risk for a septic being successfully installed on the subject property. Again, if you have wetlands nearby, usually people are like, so long as the building area isn’t within the wetlands itself, it should be fine. That’s not always the case, because that’s why the soil overlay is important, because usually,
you’ll have a subset of, or an area that’s true wetlands, but then when you look at the soil overlay, the actual impacted soil from a septic insulation standpoint might be labeled excess water and not be viable for septic within a much wider area than just the wetlands itself. So that’s something to note.
as well. That can be similar if flood zone is in the area too. So those are some initial guidelines there. Again, it can be a little tricky whenever you have any hesitance about whether you think the subject property is going to be viable for septic. Double check with a local expert, especially if you’re planning to work with a realtor on the Dispo side.
How common is it for parcels to have perc tests and soil tests done before an end buyer will purchase? Some counties and areas of the country are way more strict about that. You won’t get any offers until you have a soil test done and potentially fully approved by the state. We’ve done that before. That’s another story.
Or in some areas, like you can pin it on the end buyer, know, checking comps on the MLS or Zillow, what have you, is also helpful. If you’re seeing like all the sold comps are saying, Hey, know, per test was done, et cetera, et cetera. Then it’s probably indicative that it’s in your best interest to get a per test done. If you want to sell this property in a more reasonable timeframe. at the same time, for larger lots, you could get a soil test in an area that.
and then buyer doesn’t want to build in. So you might be doing work that’s going to be superfluous in, in, the end. So have to be careful of that consideration too, unless there’s a very obvious building, area. so hopefully those base guidelines help a bit to assess, again, this is probably a topic could discuss, for far longer, but that’s a base overview.
Looking forward to next time. Remember, serious land dot capital. Submit any funding requests. We’ve been getting a lot of positive feedback about this podcast, even in its early days. Very much appreciate the support. Excited to continue doing this. Land Daily Diligence for the Facebook group to review any land deals and landpricer.ai for the most accurate and simple way to assess land deals. Catch you all next time. Bye.
