A cesspool is a replacement,
not a repair.
A cesspool is an old pit that collected household waste before modern septic systems existed. New Jersey's rules do not let one stay in service through a sale, apart from limited exceptions, so it generally gets replaced.
- A cesspool is an old pit that collected household waste before modern septic systems existed
- New Jersey's rules do not let one stay in service through a sale, apart from limited exceptions, so it is generally replaced with a proper septic system
- That makes it a replacement rather than a repair, which is a different kind of number
- The contract decides who does the work and who pays for it, so it is a term rather than a given
Term. Written by The JK Realty Group.
A cesspool is an old pit that collected household waste, built before modern septic systems existed. It is not a small septic system and it does not treat anything; it holds. Buyers meet them on older houses in the parts of South Jersey that never got public sewer, which is a good deal of Salem, Cumberland and the rural edges of Gloucester and Atlantic counties.
The reason it matters at a sale is that New Jersey's rules do not let one stay in service through a transfer, apart from limited exceptions. In practice that means it is replaced with a proper septic system rather than patched, and that is a different kind of number from the repairs on a typical inspection list. It is also a permitted job, so the county health department is involved and the work runs on their schedule rather than a contractor's. What the standard contract does not decide for you is who handles it. Who does the work and who pays for it is a term the parties write in, which is exactly why it belongs in the conversation early rather than in the week before closing.
Say a buyer is under contract on a farmhouse in Salem County and the inspection turns up a cesspool nobody had mentioned. The useful move is to find out what a replacement system for that lot actually involves, from someone who can look at the soil and the site, before the inspection window closes. With a real number in hand the parties can price it, split it, or decide it is not their deal. Without one, the negotiation happens on guesses.
What to ask, and who answers it. Ask the county health department what a replacement on that lot would involve and what permits it needs, because they are the ones who approve the design. Ask a licensed septic contractor for a real figure for that property rather than a general one. Your attorney is the one to ask about what your contract says on who pays and what happens if the work cannot be finished before closing. Your agent can line up the inspection and the contractor visit inside the window, and that part we can start the day you ask.
Our take
A cesspool at a sale is generally a new system rather than a fix, and who pays for it is written into the contract rather than settled by custom. If you are looking at older homes on rural lots, establish that number early.
Looking at older homes on rural lots? Let's talk.
General information. New Jersey's rules on cesspools at transfer carry limited exceptions, and what applies to a specific property is a question for the county health department and a licensed New Jersey attorney. General information, not advice about any specific property. The JK Realty Group, brokered with OMNI Real Estate Professionals. Equal Housing Opportunity. See our Terms of Use for how we source and credit these posts.