Question about buried oil tanks?

[ckret01]

We are looking at the one house we want to buy. The house has a buried oil tank. The sellers has someone come in and do a pressurized test on it. They said it was fine and will not remove it. They are also going to have the soil tested as well.

Now I've been told from friends that I should have them remove this no matter what, incase there is a problem in the future with any leaks which could be real bad. Other friends are saying, if they have it tested and it is fine leave it alone and you can have it replaced in the future yourself (at your own cost of course).

I live in NY state so I don't if that matters. At first I thought they wouldn't be allowed to sell the house with a buried oil tank but apparently they are.

Anyone have experience with this kind of situation?

 

[diesel]

There's a reason alot of states have outlawed underground oil tanks. I wouldn't even consider purchasing a house with an underground oil tank. You just never know what condition the tank is in. The soil may test fine now but in a year or two the tank may start to leak and then you will be paying big money for the clean up. Find another house if the seller is not willing to remove the tank.

 

[golfgal]

I wouldn't buy it either unless it was removed. You never know when it might leak or what kind of contamination was done years ago.

We looked at a house many years ago that had an oil tank in the basement that was used for heating the house. The house was empty for 15+ years and the tank leaked sometime during that time. The oil had seeped into the concrete floor and up into the concrete walls of the basement. The whole house smelled like oil. We called what ever government agency that was responsible for such things and checked into what could be done to clean it up and remove the tank. There is Superfund money available to take care of these types of things but being government money, every I has to be dotted, T crossed or no money.

 

[MarkeyMouse]

It's very common for the seller to pay the expense of removing buried oil tanks in a real estate transaction. The seller's realtor probably is expecting the buyer to ask for removal even thougth no leakage is present.

It can be very expensive for you to remove in the future if you don't request the current owner to do so now.

 

[Disney Ella]

Run! When we bought our house, it had an underground oil tank. The tank was tested and no water was found in it, which we were told meant there were no leaks. Having that tank in the ground made us nervous, so a few years later we had it removed. When they pulled it out of the ground, there was a football size hole in it. The company said it had to have been there for years.

I eavesdropped on the tank removal workers talking about their worst case scenarios, cases where the whole house had to be jacked up and everything underneath dug up, cases where the clean up cost more than the value of the house!

Our homeowner's insurance covered the clean up because we had injured a third party - the state of New Jersey because oil had gotten into the ground water. The clean up cost $50,000, so of course we were dropped from our insurance company and could only get high risk insurance for five years.

The engineer overseeing the cleanup told me that the test that was used to check for leaks when we bought the house was worthless. The water table was so low that that half the tank could be leaking and no water would get into the tank.

I will never buy another house with an underground tank and would not advise anyone else to do so either.

 

[hiwaygal]

try talking to someone in your city/county stormwater management or environmental division...they can advise you on local/state/federal regulations concerning underground storage tanks (UST's).

I'm not sure, but if there are no leaks present, and no contamination in the nearby soils...I think you might be able to get away with pumping it dry and filling it in with something (concrete/dirt/gravel) and just not using it again. It could also depend on the tank itself (what it is made of). Not sure if that would be allowed though and not sure if that would be cheaper than just having it removed (if that is necessary).

 

[LoraJ]

I had a house with an underground oil tank that was abandoned.

When I sold it, the buyers wanted it removed. It was not possible because it would have messed up the foundation of the home. So instead I had it pumped, filled with sand or something and the cap cut off. This was much cheaper than what it would have cost to remove it.

 

[RadioFanatic]

just know that in NYS, you are strictly liable if the underground tank leaks at any time after you buy the property. This means that no matter what, you will be required to pay clean up and damages to any other person, place, etc. It's a huge mess and a lot of times insurance won't cover it. So, if you are going to buy the property, I would require they remove it. If they won't, say see ya!