Buying or selling a home involves a lot of things, it also raises questions. In this column ‘Ask Bob’, real estate expert/broker Bob Bartikoski of RE/MAX Paradise Homes Bonaire answers a real estate question from a reader. This time:
Question: Can you tell me about septic tanks? I see that many houses on Bonaire have them. Aren’t there public sewers?
Not a weird question at all, I bet a lot of people wonder about that, so thanks for asking! The Bonaire public sewer system currently serves most of properties located on the coast between Hato and Punt Vierkant and within about 400 meters of the ocean. In most of the other areas of Bonaire the houses have some type of septic tank.
On Bonaire, the septic tanks that are installed that are closed concrete tanks that sit in the ground and do not drain into the ground. These have anywhere from one to four separate chambers, and their size depends on how many bedroom and bathrooms are in the house.
The top of the septic tank is often visible above ground, and in most cases there are PVC caps that screw off so the tank can be emptied by a service truck with a long hose. The cost is generally $50 to $75, depending on the size of the tank and how many chambers you want emptied. If you have a multi-chambered tank, your final chamber may be “gray” water from your sinks and showers that is suitable for connecting to your drip garden watering system, which saves on your water cost and reduces how often your tank needs to be emptied. If you septic tank is properly sized and not used too much you might only have to pump it out once per year, perhaps less.
There are also still some open bottom septic systems (called a beerput) on some homes built in the decades prior to the requirement for new construction to install closed tanks.
In some homes it is not obvious how big the tank is, or even where it is located, so be sure ask your real estate agent if you are not sure when you view a property or when you are considering a purchase.