Brooklyn, NY · Member since 2015 · 10 posts · 0 votes
#ASKBP - Hello I'm currently in the process of buying a 4 unit house that needs a few repairs but will bring in decent income once fixed up. The problem is that there is an underground oil tank. The property is selling at 150K. If I can get the property down to 135K do you think it's worth the hassle of buying the house and having to deal with an underground oil tank? Please advise. Thanks!
@Brian Simmonds Is the tank active? Or its an abandoned tank? If abandoned, then you need to get a certification of abandonment.
Also, get the soil test done. If soil test is good and the certificate is there, then it should be ok. Atleast, here in long island, its not a problem.
I would recommend not taking on the additional risk of UST. The main problem is if there is a leak and soil is contaminated. This will then require EPA involvement and the costs to clean up soil can be significant. Request seller to address this by removing UST and let them remove this risk instead of transferring the risk to you.
thanks!! ..so here's the deal. The owner does not want to remove the tank. He wants to sell it as is. The tank is decommissioned and is not in use...it's just been under ground for a long time. I was thinking I leave it get the property cheaper and take it out over time. There's a 50/50 chance it may be leaking. I'm considering taking the risk. What do u guys think?
I think you already have your mind made up and are looking for validation that others would do the same thing as you.
$15,000 discount to take an underground tank that you estimate has a 50/50 chance of leaking? Either you don't fully understand the cost of properly cleaning up such a mess or are willing to take shortcuts to do it without necessary permits and government oversight....likely incorrectly and thus cause further ground contamination.
I think you already have your mind made up and are looking for validation that others would do the same thing as you.
$15,000 discount to take an underground tank that you estimate has a 50/50 chance of leaking? Either you don't fully understand the cost of properly cleaning up such a mess or are willing to take shortcuts to do it without necessary permits and government oversight....likely incorrectly and thus cause further ground contamination.
Good luck
I agree with this. A 15K discount where there is a 50% chance there is a leak, leaving you with 30-200K+ in clean up costs seems like a poor thing to move forward with. EMV is 15K to 100K in repair costs based on the probability of leakage.
I had a property like this recently and I walked away from it. There was a 70K upside, but the seller had a jerry rigged above ground tank that they were using instead of the below ground tank. The only reason they would do that is if they knew the UST was leaking. Only a fool would buy the property without having THEM remove the tank before closing and take that risk.