All Forum Posts by: Russell Brooks

Professional liability insurance covers this process.  Any legitimate Environmental Consultant will carry the insurance.  You will have to go after their insurance carrier to cover the claim.  Take a look at the proposal they sent you in the Terms and Conditions to see if they limited their liability to the cost of the investigation.  Consultants typically will do this especially on a small job, but at the end of the day a good Environmental Attorney should be able to get the cost of the removal of the system and any impacts covered. 

You said they gave you your money back, if you cashed the check you may be limited to your claims.  You are looking at $4000 to $6000 to pull and close the tank system assuming no major impacts.

To give you an idea on the cost to remove the UST and get a No Further Action letter from NJDEP you would have to hire a pre-qualified environmental professional to investigate and remediate unregulated underground.  So you want to prescreen the site to see if it has leaked, you are looking at $1000 to $1500 to just collect a soil sample or two from around the tank.  If you go ahead and pull the tank you are looking at $4000 to $6000.  I personally would just put the money into the removal.  Typically on heating oil tanks you will have some soil contamination around the tank from over fills and small spills.  The contractor will dig 3-10 tons of dirt and dispose at a regulated landfill and then collect confirmation samples from the walls and floor of the pit for a closure report.  

As mentioned above you can close the tank in-place by backfilling with flowable fill once you have pumped out any remaining fuel. Just depends on access with a concrete truck. Looking at $300-$500 for the flowable fill another $1500-$2000 for an assessment report from a UST contractor to get the No Further Action letter assuming results are below limits.

Now if you don't need a No Further Action letter I would pull the tank and backfill as needed.  The tanks are technically non-regulated by NJDEP.  I assume you are flipping for investment property.  I would negotiate $4000-6000 off the cost of the property and pull the system.  Worst case is you dig another truck of dirt out at $1000 per load to dig and backfill.  Groundwater is usually not impacted as you will not know since most tanks are only 4-5 feet deep and you will not encounter groundwater in the tank pit.  If no water in the tank pit then you don't have to investigate for water impacts.  Groundwater is usually deeper just depends on your location.

@Orr Kichin Heating oil USTs in Indiana are not regulated, ie there is no requirement to report to IDEM about the removal.  Have the tank pumped of any remaining oil and either go ahead and dig it up or have it backfilled with flowable fill.  As far as cost goes it will vary but $1500-$2000 should be you taken care of.  Shouldn't take more than a couple hours to have it taken care of.  My opinion is to pull the tank vs leaving it in place.  The biggest thing is make sure they are a reputable company that will dispose of the heating oil or recycle it.  Not Billy Bob with a backhoe.  

Cost wise you are looking at $2.00 to $2.50 a square foot.  It will take them 2-3 hours to strip a house that size and then you can put new siding.  Otherwise like others have said if it is in good condition, fresh paint and let it be.  Great stuff.

@Brandon Barnic    Has the depth to groundwater dropped so you don't have the available water volume, is the well dry, or are you not getting the gallons per minute.  These are all important questions.  If the well is dry you are drilling deeper, if the well is not making water like it use to it could just be screen is clogged with minerals like iron or calcium and would need a chemical treatment to open the screen along.  Also you might be able to redevelopment the well which might unclog the screen.  If the water table has dropped and you dont have the volume you are back to drilling deeper unless you can pump at a lower gpm and still meet usage requirements.

If you can give me some feed back I can give you my 2 cents.

Thanks for you  alls help, @Marcus A.  I do a drive by of the neighborhoods and houses both during the day and evening to see if this is an area that I would feel comfortable in and for tenants actually wanting to live in these areas.  Also looking at the exterior of the property to see if it needs maintenance, like roof, siding, existing sheds, etc.  Then i start playing the what if numbers.  Just need to pull the trigger and go visit them.

@Elizabeth Colegrove Sounds like i need to find a Realtor that I am comfortable with and who is looking out for my interest.  

I am trying to pickup my 2nd property using the typical rules of thumb and just want to be on the right side of this and not waste everyone's time.   As we all know if the numbers don't work go on to the next deal, don't waste eveyones time.  

I bought my first property a little over a year ago and after reading on the Forum it would not have been the best unit to buy cased on ROI. However, it was a all cash deal and could potentially be used by my son for college housing in a few years. So a little nicer property, low headache factor, low HOA and maintenance cost, and currently a great tenant.

Here is my situation, I am looking at investment properties that are posted on Zillow.  In most cases there are lots of good pictures and description of work that has been done on the property.  With that said so I don't waste the agents time, is it out of the question to contact the selling agent give them the ballpark range I am willing to offer before I even conduct a visit?  If they are agreeable I would then go see the property and if it is as described make a formal offer.