Oil tank abandonment

Has anyone had to deal with this issue? Has anyone ever gotten a soil test reading for environmental concerns prior tothe abandonment?

ETA: Did/would you buy a home with an underground oil tank, and if so would you have the soil tested (at a cost of ~$600), knowing that if a leak is found then it has to be reported and cleaned up at a cost of ~$25K?

Here's the thing: a home we are looking to buy has an oil tank and i think the deal with fall through if we ask the sellers to pay for a soil test....but I wouldn't want to spend the $$ to find out there is a leak or buy the house for that matter. But, legally, the seller doesn't need to test for it - or even abandon it for that matter, so if we test and find a leak, the seller is in for big $$.

Message edited 2/9/2011 12:49:13 PM.

Re: Oil tank abandonment

I bought a house with an underground tank. We asked the seller to have it abondoned and convert to gas before the closing. He agreed as long as we paid for it (which was fine with us.) We didn't want to deal with the headache of abondoning/converting, plus we figured if the tank was leaking or there was a problem with the abononment, it would be the seller's problem since he still owned the house at that point.

We did not ask for a soil test cause we didn't think the seller would do it, plus it would have opened a huge can of worms if they did find something.

The advice I was given at the time is that Nassau is more concerned with getting the tanks abondoned then testing soil. The seller just had to sign a piece of paper when it was done. Really easy to do.

Re: Oil tank abandonment

We got a test done to see if the oil tank was leaking. I think we had to pay for it, but to us it was totally worth it as it would have prevented us from buying the house if there was a leak.

Re: Oil tank abandonment

Per our inspector, we avoided anynhomes with abandoned tanks.

Re: Oil tank abandonment

We bought a house with an underground oil tank. We asked the sellers to abandon it and they told us to go kick rocks. In the end we ended up buying it anyway and are going to abandon and convert next year. It's not ideal, but the house was just too amazing to let the oil tank ruin it.

One note of caution, because of the underground oil tank we did have a harder time getting homeowners insurance. Several companies don't want to write policies on Long Island at all and of those even fewer were willing to cover a home with an underground tank!

Re: Oil tank abandonment

On the house we bought there was an oil tank buried in the front yard and we had them provide paperwork that it was properly abandoned. We did not test the soil and do not plan on testing it in the future.

Re: Oil tank abandonment

We bought in august 09 and we abandoned it aug 10. it cost us 1600 to abandon and get a new outside tank.

Re: Oil tank abandonment

We didn't ask the sellers for a soil test b/c we figured they wouldn't do it. Why would they? They're the ones selling and if there's a leak discovered they are still the ones responsible for the clean up. So, we asked them to abandon the tanks and put one in the basement.

Re: Oil tank abandonment

As a seller I would never allow for a soil test. Only you can decide how badly you want the house.

Re: Oil tank abandonment

I bought a house with an underground tank. Sellers weren't willing to negotiate on this so we talked to our attorney about it. He said no seller in their right mind would allow a soil test.

We bought the house anyway, and abandoned the tank ourselves. They don't test for leaks when they abandon it so it was a non-issue. They put a new tank in back of our house, took whatever oil was left and put it in the new tank, then a week or 2 later they came and abandon the old tank. They put something in it to dissolve all the sludge and filled it with foam. Best thing we ever did, I could not imagine dipping a stick in the ground with the winter we've had to try to guess how much oil we had. Ours was under the driveway

ETA: I forgot to add that you probably want to try to get the sellers to do it beforehand even if you suggest that you split the cost or even if you pay for it because getting homeowners insurance was a horror show for us with the underground tank

Message edited 2/9/2011 4:12:03 PM.

Re: Oil tank abandonment

Re: Oil tank abandonment

We have an underground tank but it is the fiberglass kind. We had no issues with homeowners but we also had a smaller group of companies to go to but Interboro insures underground tanks and if you go to the companies that do insure the underground tanks right up front you shouldnt have an issue.

Re: Oil tank abandonment

my parents have an old abandonded tank under the front lawn. as long as its abandonded properly i think your fine.

Re: Oil tank abandonment

Can you tell me what company you used?

TIA

Re: Oil tank abandonment

I would DEFINITELY have them test for a leak before the house is yours. You don't want to "buy" that problem.

Even if it meant you had to pay $600. I'd do it while the house is still owned by them and work the abandonment into the contract.

I had an oil heat leak in my old apartment... the oil was seeping through the walls and the landlord didn't want to do anything about it; then he said he would just abandon it which you aren't allowed to do if there's evidence os a leak. I read up on it and we moved as fast as we could.

Re: Oil tank abandonment

we waked away from a house that had an abandoned underground tank.

We had some unique circumstances though. The homeowner did the abandonment himself and didn't have the proper permits. Our attorney advised us to RUN away from the deal.

Re: Oil tank abandonment

I don't think any sellers would be advised to allow for a soil test.

Re: Oil tank abandonment

I don't know the answer to your questions but, if you don't mind I have a few questions as a buyer who doesn't know much about oil heat.

Are the only bad issues tanks that are no longer being used? How does that happen? When you convert don't you need to get rid of the tank? Is it an insurance issue if the tank is still in use? finally,if there is a leak would it be dangerous or pose a health risk for those who live in the house? TIA so much and sorry for the hijack!

Re: Oil tank abandonment

It is an insurance issue with the tank still in use. You will have a very hard time finding homeowners insurance. This was the case for us 9 yrs ago. We abandoned and converted to gas right after we purchased. I don't know if an underground tank would make me walk away from a house I loved but you have to know your facts and your rights going into the deal...and no we never had a soil test.

Message edited 5/6/2011 6:00:40 AM.