Wells and septic in Wexford County: what buyers should know

Once you leave Cadillac, Manton, and the villages, most homes out here run on a private well and a septic system instead of city water and sewer. The county’s health department — District Health Department #10 — handles the permits for both. And Michigan has no single statewide code for residential septic systems, so the rules get set locally, county by county.

That leaves Wexford a step behind two of its own neighbors. Manistee and Kalkaska both make a seller get the septic system inspected and signed off before a sale can close. Wexford doesn’t. An inspection at the time of sale here is voluntary, though a lender may ask for what’s called a “mortgage evaluation” before approving a loan. So the smart move is to put your own well and septic inspection right in your offer — don’t assume one already happened. And on vacant land, you’ll want a “perc test” to confirm the soil will actually pass for a drain field before you buy.

One thing worth watching down the road: lawmakers in Lansing have floated a statewide septic-inspection law more than once. Nothing has passed yet, but if you’re buying a place on a septic system, it’s worth keeping an eye on.