Who orders a septic test,
and what the results allow.

A septic system treats a home's wastewater on its own land. It is what a property uses where there is no public sewer, which across South Jersey means a great many houses outside the older boroughs and the sewered developments. The system is part of the property, so its condition is part of what a buyer is taking on.

The New Jersey Realtors contract has an added page for septic systems, the Addendum Regarding Private Sewage Disposal. It covers the test and what happens after it. Under that addendum the test is optional, so a buyer who does not order one simply does not have one.

If the results come back bad, the same addendum sets out what the buyer can do: ask for a credit, ask the seller to take care of it, or cancel. Which of those makes sense depends on what the report actually says, and a failing test and a system near the end of its life are different problems.

Say a buyer is under contract on a house in Pittsgrove with an original system. Ordering the test in the first week of the window leaves time to get a contractor out for a real number if it comes back poorly, and time to talk to the seller with that number in hand. Ordering it in the last week leaves the choice between accepting an unknown and asking for an extension.

What to ask, and who answers it. Ask the inspector what the report actually found and what it means for how long the system has left, since that is the difference between a credit and a replacement. Ask the county health department what a replacement on that lot would need if it comes to that. Your attorney is the one to ask about what the addendum on your own contract says and what your notice dates are. Your agent can line up the test early in the window.