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teachermom
LIF Adolescent
Member since 8/11 843 total posts
Name:
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Buried oil tank and new house?
My parents are thinking of buying a house in Huntington but there is a buried oil tank. They want it removed by the current home owner because it there is any kind of a leak, it's big bucks to fix. Has anyone ever had this as part of a negotiation? I think it's reasonable and I'm curious to see what others think.
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Posted 5/25/15 9:09 PM  |
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Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Estate
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TheDivineMrsM
2 girls 4 me!
Member since 8/08 7878 total posts
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Mama mama mama....
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Buried oil tank and new house?
You don't have it removed. You hire a plumber to install a new tank, pump the old oil into the new one, then fill the old one with sand or foam and ensure that it has been satisfactorily abandoned. It was $2500 when we did it 6 years ago. I don't know if those sellers will do it. Your parents may want to find someone to test the soil for evidence of oil leaks and/or incorporate the cost of abandoning the tank into their bid.
Message edited 5/25/2015 9:18:16 PM.
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| Posted 5/25/15 9:16 PM |
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Katareen
5,000 Posts!
Member since 4/10 7180 total posts
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Katherine
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Buried oil tank and new house?
Like pp said you don't remove it, you abandon it. We did this when we converted to gas as we had an underground tank.
No seller in their right mind will test the soil, as if there is evidence of a leak it MUST be reported and the owner MUST pay for the cleanup. So if your parents do buy this house, tell them not to test it either unless they potentially want to pay for a $25K environmental cleanup!!
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| Posted 5/25/15 10:09 PM |
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Mrs213
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Member since 2/09 18986 total posts
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Re: Buried oil tank and new house?
Posted by Katareen
Like pp said you don't remove it, you abandon it. We did this when we converted to gas as we had an underground tank.
No seller in their right mind will test the soil, as if there is evidence of a leak it MUST be reported and the owner MUST pay for the cleanup. So if your parents do buy this house, tell them not to test it either unless they potentially want to pay for a $25K environmental cleanup!!
This exactly. We bought a house with a buried tank. We just had it abandoned. They don't test the soil when they abandon it they just fill it with foam, no questions asked. If there is a leak no one will ever know.
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| Posted 5/25/15 10:26 PM |
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Hofstra26
Love to Bake!
Member since 7/06 27915 total posts
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Re: Buried oil tank and new house?
We had a buried oil tank when we bought our house and the seller was advised by his lawyers to NOT remove it. As soon as we closed on the house we abandoned the buried oil tank and had a new one installed above ground. I HIGHLY doubt you'll get the seller to spend the money and take care of this for you.
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| Posted 5/26/15 7:40 AM |
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teachermom
LIF Adolescent
Member since 8/11 843 total posts
Name:
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Re: Buried oil tank and new house?
Posted by Katareen
Like pp said you don't remove it, you abandon it. We did this when we converted to gas as we had an underground tank.
No seller in their right mind will test the soil, as if there is evidence of a leak it MUST be reported and the owner MUST pay for the cleanup. So if your parents do buy this house, tell them not to test it either unless they potentially want to pay for a $25K environmental cleanup!!
The whole point is to a make sure there isn't a leak because who wants to live where soil and water could potentially be contaminated? I'm actually really surprised that people skip the testing.
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| Posted 5/26/15 8:56 AM |
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teachermom
LIF Adolescent
Member since 8/11 843 total posts
Name:
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Re: Buried oil tank and new house?
Posted by Mrs213
Posted by Katareen
Like pp said you don't remove it, you abandon it. We did this when we converted to gas as we had an underground tank.
No seller in their right mind will test the soil, as if there is evidence of a leak it MUST be reported and the owner MUST pay for the cleanup. So if your parents do buy this house, tell them not to test it either unless they potentially want to pay for a $25K environmental cleanup!!
This exactly. We bought a house with a buried tank. We just had it abandoned. They don't test the soil when they abandon it they just fill it with foam, no questions asked. If there is a leak no one will ever know.
You aren't afraid of contamination?
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| Posted 5/26/15 8:57 AM |
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Buried oil tank and new house?
They should also know that most insurance carriers will not accept underground oil tanks. They may pay a substantial amount in premium to get a carrier to cover them.
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| Posted 5/26/15 8:58 AM |
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NervousNell
Just another chapter in life..
Member since 11/09 54921 total posts
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..being a mommy and being a wife!
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Re: Buried oil tank and new house?
Posted by teachermom
Posted by Katareen
Like pp said you don't remove it, you abandon it. We did this when we converted to gas as we had an underground tank.
No seller in their right mind will test the soil, as if there is evidence of a leak it MUST be reported and the owner MUST pay for the cleanup. So if your parents do buy this house, tell them not to test it either unless they potentially want to pay for a $25K environmental cleanup!!
The whole point is to a make sure there isn't a leak because who wants to live where soil and water could potentially be contaminated? I'm actually really surprised that people skip the testing.
Also know that if your oil company suspects a leak they will report you to the Dept of Environmental Protection and they will test it. If soil contamination is found it will cost you a FORTUNE
My advice- get it taken care of as soon as they buy the house.
Why risk the headache? A couple grand now can save you upwards of $25K later.
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| Posted 5/26/15 9:01 AM |
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teachermom
LIF Adolescent
Member since 8/11 843 total posts
Name:
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Re: Buried oil tank and new house?
Posted by Bradley & Parker, Inc
They should also know that most insurance carriers will not accept underground oil tanks. They may pay a substantial amount in premium to get a carrier to cover them.
Yes, this is a major reason they want it taken care of
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| Posted 5/26/15 9:02 AM |
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ave1024
I Took The Wrong Road
Member since 12/07 6153 total posts
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That Led To The Wrong Tendencies
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Re: Buried oil tank and new house?
Posted by teachermom
Posted by Bradley & Parker, Inc
They should also know that most insurance carriers will not accept underground oil tanks. They may pay a substantial amount in premium to get a carrier to cover them.
Yes, this is a major reason they want it taken care of
Most insurance companies won't accept ACTIVE underground tanks. As long as the tank was abandoned properly there is no issue of leaks or contamination.
Most sellers are not going to be willing to remove an abandoned oil tank. If I was the seller id tell the buyer to go pound.
Message edited 5/26/2015 9:06:56 AM.
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| Posted 5/26/15 9:06 AM |
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sunnyflies
LIF Adult
Member since 9/09 1757 total posts
Name:
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Buried oil tank and new house?
Insist that the sellers have the tank legally abandoned and present papers to prove it before any signatures are put on papers at a closing. Don't buy it like that or your parents could get stuck paying to clean up leaked oil, if any is found.
I had to get my mother's old tank legally abandoned in 2010 before I put her house on the market for sale, and it cost $1500.
The tank was already pretty empty as she had new oil tanks in her basement, but a bit more oil was pumped out before the tank was filled with a foam and I was given a paper stating it was legally abandoned. It was easily done.
Message edited 5/26/2015 9:41:22 AM.
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| Posted 5/26/15 9:39 AM |
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Mill188
LIF Adult
Member since 3/09 3073 total posts
Name:
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Re: Buried oil tank and new house?
We walked away from a deal because the homeowners had abandoned an oil tank but did it themselves and had no paperwork to prove that it was done correctly. They thought the receipt showing they bought a new oil tank was enough.
No seller in their right mind will allow soil testing. If there is a problem that is found, the company who does the testing is required by law to report it to the DEC. The seller is then on the hook for the thousands of dollars to remediate the property.
If you purchase the property and then decide to have the soil tested, you are on the hook for the cost to cure.
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| Posted 5/26/15 9:48 AM |
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Re: Buried oil tank and new house?
Posted by teachermom
My parents are thinking of buying a house in Huntington but there is a buried oil tank. They want it removed by the current home owner because it there is any kind of a leak, it's big bucks to fix. Has anyone ever had this as part of a negotiation? I think it's reasonable and I'm curious to see what others think.
We bought a house 9 months ago- the HO took responsibility and had it properly abandoned for us. If he decided not to, we were going to walk away. Everything turned out fine and we have the certificate for the properly abandoned tank.
BTW no issues with our insurance as a previous poster mentioned.
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| Posted 5/26/15 9:54 AM |
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Re: Buried oil tank and new house?
It's reasonable to ask the seller to legally abandon the tank and install a new one above ground, prior to closing. It should be presented as a term of the offer and negotiated upfront. I've successfully negotiated this for buyers.
It's not expensive to do, but it's a liability issue, so you want the sellers to do it, you don't want to take a credit. Most listing agents know the inground tank can be an issue and prepare their sellers that this may come up in negotiations.
Soil testing is not going to happen, as others have said. But if the tank is legally abandoned and proper paperwork filed (in Nassau, the certificate gets filed with department of health) it then becomes a non-issue. And soil testing is not all that helpful -- even if a seller allowed it (and they wouldn't), there's no guarantee that the tank wouldn't start leaking in the future.
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| Posted 5/26/15 11:02 AM |
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LoveLee2009
LIF Infant
Member since 6/12 275 total posts
Name:
St.Gerard
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Re: Buried oil tank and new house?
we asked our sellers and they agreed.
doesn't hurt to ask
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| Posted 5/26/15 11:10 AM |
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ISpoilHim
I think I got this
Member since 11/10 1523 total posts
Name:
K
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Buried oil tank and new house?
When my mom sold her house the buyers asked for the tank to be abandoned and she did. No soil testing. She did it because the house had been on the market for a while and she needed it to sell. It was not worth losing the sale over for her. Ask, worth they can say is no.
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| Posted 5/26/15 12:38 PM |
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alli3131
Peanut is here!!!!!!
Member since 5/09 18388 total posts
Name:
Allison
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Re: Buried oil tank and new house?
Posted by ave1024
Posted by teachermom
Posted by Bradley & Parker, Inc
They should also know that most insurance carriers will not accept underground oil tanks. They may pay a substantial amount in premium to get a carrier to cover them.
Yes, this is a major reason they want it taken care of
Most insurance companies won't accept ACTIVE underground tanks. As long as the tank was abandoned properly there is no issue of leaks or contamination.
We had an underground tank until we switched to gas last year. We had no issue in finding an insurer and did not pay that much more for the coverage.
So I wouldn't let the insurance part scare you.
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| Posted 5/26/15 1:03 PM |
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Hofstra26
Love to Bake!
Member since 7/06 27915 total posts
Name:
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Re: Buried oil tank and new house?
Posted by alli3131
Posted by ave1024
Posted by teachermom
Posted by Bradley & Parker, Inc
They should also know that most insurance carriers will not accept underground oil tanks. They may pay a substantial amount in premium to get a carrier to cover them.
Yes, this is a major reason they want it taken care of
Most insurance companies won't accept ACTIVE underground tanks. As long as the tank was abandoned properly there is no issue of leaks or contamination.
We had an underground tank until we switched to gas last year. We had no issue in finding an insurer and did not pay that much more for the coverage.
So I wouldn't let the insurance part scare you.
ITA. We didn't have an issue securing homeowners insurance with the underground tank. Like I said though, we did abandon it right after we closed on the house as to avoid any potential issues in the future.
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| Posted 5/26/15 2:41 PM |
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Mrs213
????????
Member since 2/09 18986 total posts
Name:
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Re: Buried oil tank and new house?
Posted by teachermom
Posted by Mrs213
Posted by Katareen
Like pp said you don't remove it, you abandon it. We did this when we converted to gas as we had an underground tank.
No seller in their right mind will test the soil, as if there is evidence of a leak it MUST be reported and the owner MUST pay for the cleanup. So if your parents do buy this house, tell them not to test it either unless they potentially want to pay for a $25K environmental cleanup!!
This exactly. We bought a house with a buried tank. We just had it abandoned. They don't test the soil when they abandon it they just fill it with foam, no questions asked. If there is a leak no one will ever know.
You aren't afraid of contamination?
No it never even crossed my mind actually
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| Posted 5/26/15 3:24 PM |
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teachermom
LIF Adolescent
Member since 8/11 843 total posts
Name:
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Re: Buried oil tank and new house?
Thanks for sharing your experiences!
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| Posted 5/26/15 5:13 PM |
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Hofstra26
Love to Bake!
Member since 7/06 27915 total posts
Name:
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Re: Buried oil tank and new house?
Posted by Mrs213
Posted by teachermom
Posted by Mrs213
Posted by Katareen
Like pp said you don't remove it, you abandon it. We did this when we converted to gas as we had an underground tank.
No seller in their right mind will test the soil, as if there is evidence of a leak it MUST be reported and the owner MUST pay for the cleanup. So if your parents do buy this house, tell them not to test it either unless they potentially want to pay for a $25K environmental cleanup!!
This exactly. We bought a house with a buried tank. We just had it abandoned. They don't test the soil when they abandon it they just fill it with foam, no questions asked. If there is a leak no one will ever know.
You aren't afraid of contamination?
No it never even crossed my mind actually
I wasn't nervous either. There are SO many homes on the island with underground oil tanks, I wasn't going to walk away from a house just because of that. MOST of the time they are fine and once you abandon them (properly) there is nothing more to worry about.
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| Posted 5/27/15 1:28 PM |
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Mrs213
????????
Member since 2/09 18986 total posts
Name:
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Re: Buried oil tank and new house?
Posted by Hofstra26
Posted by Mrs213
Posted by teachermom
Posted by Mrs213
Posted by Katareen
Like pp said you don't remove it, you abandon it. We did this when we converted to gas as we had an underground tank.
No seller in their right mind will test the soil, as if there is evidence of a leak it MUST be reported and the owner MUST pay for the cleanup. So if your parents do buy this house, tell them not to test it either unless they potentially want to pay for a $25K environmental cleanup!!
This exactly. We bought a house with a buried tank. We just had it abandoned. They don't test the soil when they abandon it they just fill it with foam, no questions asked. If there is a leak no one will ever know.
You aren't afraid of contamination?
No it never even crossed my mind actually
I wasn't nervous either. There are SO many homes on the island with underground oil tanks, I wasn't going to walk away from a house just because of that. MOST of the time they are fine and once you abandon them (properly) there is nothing more to worry about.
Yeah, I figured if there was a major leak they would know because they would be going through oil like nuts. A small leak the size of a pinhole probably much wouldn't get out
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| Posted 5/27/15 3:28 PM |
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