Re: would you NOT buy a home b/c the oil tank is in the ground?

I agree that I would have the owners cap it, put in the above ground tank, and show you proof that it was done according to applicable standards. It's a PITA to take care of yourself. Also if they are so ready to just get out and retire, this is a much faster way for them to do so than to have this deal fall through and have to start over.

We did walk away from a house with burried tanks in the back yard. (There were at least 2). My husband noticed when we looked at the house again that he did not think they were capped properly. We knew we'd be liable as owners and we didn't think this particular house (to us) was worth the potential liability or frustration of having to deal with making sure they were okay. It worked out for us b/c we wound up finding a place that suited us better... I think we just didn't like the house enough honestly to deal with it.

I'd recommend having the sellers do it before you move b/c of all the unexpected things that can go wrong when you have to manage getting the work done yourself. If not, get at least 2 estimates so you make sure they are giving you the proper amount to cover the cost of the work.

Re: would you NOT buy a home b/c the oil tank is in the ground?

We bought a house w/a tank underground. We discussed our concerns w/the seller before we bought. She was an older woman & felt there was no problem....thankfully her realtor nudged her. We were able to get some $ towards the abandonment of the tank.
It was a simple process. The tank was filled, we rec'd our cert. We also put a new tank in our garage (no basement). What's was good was being we do not have a basement our oil lines run under the house. God forbid there was ever a problem w/the old lines they would have had to dig up our floors - including my nice new $$$ carpet.
So we decided to put it in our garage w/new lines.
All is perfect thank God.