At one time, many of us, especially in older homes, had an underground oil tank and thought nothing of it. It provided a well-heated home until EPA regulations made the homeowner responsible for any leakage into the soil. Since then, underground oil tanks have become a liability to both the sellers and buyers.
Today, during every inspection, a buyer will be advised to do a tank search to see if there are any underground oil tanks on the property. Many times, a seller who has owned their home for many years and uses gas to heat their home may not even be aware that there was ever an oil tank on their property, since most homeowners did not check for one when they purchased their home.
If you are planning on selling your home you may want to consider what buyers will consider important when looking to purchase. Most buyers today fear the unknown, so often when they see that a house is heated with oil, whether it is underground or above ground, they will bypass that home and instead look for a house that is heated by gas.
If your home is presently heated with oil you should sign up for oil tank insurance. There are several that you can research on the internet. Many of these companies offer different kinds of coverage in case a leak is detected, so make sure to ask for the dollar coverage. Oil tank insurance is separate from homeowners insurance. An oil leak can prove costly when the contaminated soil on the property must be removed and replaced with new soil. If the contamination extends onto your neighbor’s property or leaks into the water table, the costs can skyrocket.
Before you put your house on the market it would be wise to determine if you have any leaks, which can be performed by doing a soil test, to avoid any potential complications of a sale. To be proactive, you might consider removing the underground tank completely and changing over to gas before you list your home for sale. This will increase the value of the home, which can cover the conversion from oil to gas and will remove what could be a major complication during the sale of your home.
Those who have above-ground oil tanks are in a much better situation, but buyers should still do a tank search to verify no evidence of an underground oil tank on their property. You may still want to consider changing to a gas boiler because when buyers see oil in the listing they do not necessarily understand that there isn’t the same liability as if there was an underground tank. Remember, young buyers are unfamiliar with oil.
Then there are decommissioned tanks. These are tanks where the oil was removed and cleaned and filled with sand and left in the ground with EPA approval and standards. Today, many attorneys are advising their clients to insist that this kind of tank be removed, often agreeing to pay for its removal. However, if the soil shows contamination, the seller would still be responsible to remediate the soil. To avoid any future issues you may want to consider taking it out of the ground regardless of its approval at the time or whether you are selling now or sometime in the future despite its decommissioned status. Be aware that permits and inspection by the town are generally required for any kind of tank removal.
Keep in mind that EPA regulations and the sale of real estate is not as easy as it used to be. Home inspectors come in expecting everything to be to code and in good working order. Regulations change over the years. If you want to accrue the most profit for the sale of your property you should rectify as much as you can.
For all your real estate needs—to sell or rent or purchase a home, call Nicole Idler of Friedberg Properties directly at 201-906-9338.
