Going to see a rural house to rent this week and wondering about a few things

[itsvampirina]

Seeing a listed rural house this week.
Rentals round here are going off the markets in hours in my price range. This house is much bigger than anything else we can currently afford. However I think it's because there's a few extra things we need to consider.
There's a septic tank. What on Earth do I need to consider for these?
It's oil heated so from what I can gather I need to get a fair price on oil and order it in advance?
Anything else we need to consider?

I would want to know the size of the septic tank and when it was last emptied. You don’t want to move in and, one month later, have to pay for it to be emptied!

www.eganwasteservices.co.uk/blog/howoftenshouldseptictankbeemptied.htm

Oil is cheap at the moment but it depends how you use it. Ie heating , cooking, water , one to or all three. We find it cheaper that our old house for gas.

I’d make it a certainty that the tank is emptied before you move. Remember you won’t be able to use bleach at all.

A big freezer is a must. Freezing milk. Cos you will run out.

There's a difference between a septic tank and a cesspit. If the ground has good drainage then the over spill from the septic tank, which relies on bacteria to munch away at the nasties, should be inoffensive for the ground and it should only need emptying every 2-3 years. But if the gradient for the drainage isn't good or the ground is eg heavy clay you could have problems and need to empty it more often. A cesspit is a nightmare as it would need to be emptied every month or so. Oil heating is fine, we have it and we usually order the oil when the prices are lower so try not to run out when prices are at a premium. You can get together with neighbours and get an oil top up when the tanker is in the area which usually also knocks a bit off the price.

Sorry so what I meant to say was make totally sure that it is a septic tank, as estate agents so make mistakes sometimes!

Thanks for the tips I have no idea about these things so I will definitely check that.

I really like the look of the house (and it's big garden )
I will get a big freezer.
How do you know how much oil to order? Or is it hit and miss at the beginning.

Regarding oil, you don’t really need to specify an amount. Just tell them to fill it up when the tanker comes. I would suggest though that you get a wireless sensor for the tank so that you can see when the oil is low. The sensor bit floats in the tank and you plug the visual indicator into a socket indoors and it will monitor the oil level for you. Try to avoid running out as if you do you often need to have the boiler bled as it may well suck air into the system when the oil tank is empty.

I second the sensor for the oil tank as when we moved out our landlords tried to claim we'd left it employ and I have taken photos and could prove they had in fact drained it.. 🙄 nice people

Empty..

Also be prepared for mice and rats and flys, ladybirds etc rural homes tend to have resident mice in lofts and walls and if it's close to farmland you'll get rats when they plough.

Also dust and dirt, old homes are permanently dusty!

Ditto the sensor for the oil tank. Keep a close eye on it, we never let ours get too low otherwise you can dredge up some gunk from the bottom. Usually just get them to fill it up when the prices are good.

Always cheaper to fill an oil tank in the summer months.

I've lived in houses with both septic tanks and oil heating. Neither was any bother. However I do remember the shock at the cost when we first filled the oil tank - it didn't work out that expensive over the course of the year it was just having to pay for it upfront in a lump sum

Yep neither oil nor septic tank should be a worry really, just a slightly different way of doing things. We have both, and they're just another thing to organise. No big deal. The house (and garden!) sound great, go for it I say!!

Oil heating is fine, it works pretty much the same as a gas central heating system, except you have a much bigger boiler, probably on an outside wall, and will have similar controls and radiators, depending on how modern the system is.

You may find that there is an Oil Club in the area (check online). The idea being to encourage more people to order at the same time in order to get the best prices and to minimise the number of big tankers coming through the villages.

With a rented property, agree how much oil you will start and finish the tenancy with so you don't end up too much out of pocket. Oil prices vary weekly, in the same way as petrol prices vary, and are cheaper in Summer. Often there is a minimum order, e.g. 500 litres. Make sure that the oil tank is screened and locked as oil theft is rife in parts of the countryside.

Aside from other advice, check broadband speed and mobile phone signal for your provider. You'll get more frosts and so much more mud than in a town.

If there are no street lights, you'll need a good torch.

Oh wow I am really beginning to get an idea of this rural living thing here. I did not for one second think about mice upstairs. I had this naive thought I'd be chasing them about maybe in the kitchen! I used to live next door to a wild overgrown field and the nice sometimes ran over my feet in my bedroom ahhhhh.
Bugs I can kind of manage. So should I add a cat to the list of requirements ...

And thanks for all the idea re the oil as well

I have a septic tank, I don’t really think about it, it’s on a rolling contract and I have it emptied every six months. Suspect it’s too much now but that’s what the previous owners did so we just keep it going. It’s about 130 quid a time, but it’s a big tank.

The guy just turns up does it and then I get an invoice.

Mobile phone signal is poor but we have a boost box which turns the WiFi to a mobile signal also you can just enable WiFi calling on your phone, so you don’t need to worry about signal.

We do get mice, little field mice come in, ours is also an old listed building. You don’t tend to get rats where you get mice, and fortunately I’ve never seen any. I keep snappy traps put for the mice but hidden. They come in on the ground floor. I don’t see them upstairs. We are also opposite fields. So not sure I agree with the comment on rats. I think they are more prevalent in cities.

We have no street lights as up a private drive but we have security lights and don’t really wander further in the dark anyway. Anyone who does just uses their phone.

We have both.

Our oil tank gets filled up twice a year (usually October and May) and I cant remember the last time the septic tank needed emptying (many many years) but that's because we dont use any bleach down the loos etc so it works pretty efficiently.

Phone signal, if it’s poor you can get a booster for your router to boost it.

WiFi, check what WiFi speed you can get there.

Holy balls this thread is practically what we’re going through too @itsvampirina

The one we saw had no heating in the bedrooms but a log burner in the living room. And there’s loads of random ancient cupboards. I’m only worried about it being cold & micey....

Mice upstairs? Hmmm well that’s put me right off the idea! (the house we saw was particularly shabby)

Oooo ok thanks. Yes it's listed. And old. And probably dusty looking through the pictures.
I hope no rats inside the house. Accept they may be around otherwise.

So if no bleach in the loo stupid question but how do you clean it?! We are avid bleachers here

Oh yes has log burners too. Of course

How rural is rural? Are we talking the middle of the Dales or the next big town is ten minutes away?

Ecover loo cleaner is safe for septic tanks iirc. Squirt and scrub, just not with bleach.

You might need to think about your car and how suitable it is - rural roads often aren't a priority for gritting in the winter and it's easy to get snowed/iced in. I get good winter tyres on mine and they help a lot.

No delivery - I can't get uber eats, domino's or other takeaway because I'm too far out. (and I'm not mega rural!) Some supermarkets won't deliver either (ocado only started in March, for example!)

Lived rurally for years, had septic tanks and oil heating.
Septic tank not a problem. We have gone years between emptying ours! You can get septic tank friendly loo cleaner (iirc harpic is - look on the bottle). Small amounts of bleach are ok- (by the time
It gets into the tank it's vv diluted) I use spray cleaner with bleach but don't tip neat bleach down drains.
Anti bac stuff though and zoflora will kill the friendly bacteria in the tank though so avoid them.

Oil heating runs just like gas, but you buy the oil in one eye watering lump. With log burners, ask around locally for a good supply of DRY logs, don't be fobbed off with stuff that's just been cut down.
We find that if you have the wood fire going, we leave the internal doors open and it heats the whole house (cuts down on the amount of oil used too)

Don't worry about rodents- there are probably more rats in cities than their are in the countryside anyway. If you do get some mice, just put traps down. We have had mice a few times- but so do people who live in towns.

Don't panic about shopping- pandemic aside, supermarkets deliver and just how far will you be from the local coop anyway?

Septic tanks are fine particularly if soakaways. Just be careful what goes down the lavatory. Ones that donee day emptying are usually leaking into other peoples gardens. Nothing to do with bleach. Most cleaners are fine not just ecover.
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Oil is often cheaper through a local cooperative because you have the purchasing power of large quantities.

Bait box the perimeter to avoid rat problems and maybe ultrasonic deterrent in the house.

Decent tyres and a tank of fuel at all times.

Forget takeaways usually. Or buy and be prepared to heat.
Have a decent first aid kit and medicine chest.
Phone can be an issue make sure you have a landline. Our WiFi is satellite and needs boosters, but is fast and reliable.

Check for bats. They can be more problematic than mice and harder to eradicate.