Here’s a scenario: There you are in the midst of getting ready to sell your home. Within five days of listing your home, a potential buyer met your price point, and everything is going perfectly well — until the topic of the underground oil tank is discussed, based on your filled out disclosure form.
In the state of New Jersey there are no laws that the seller has to remove an old oil tank on their property. However, buyers, attorneys, and insurance companies may not agree to have an underground oil tank. A leaking oil tank and its associated clean up can delay the process by months and could also “kill” the deal.
It is in the best interest for the seller to disclose any issues about the home to your real estate agent upon signing a contract with them. When filling out the disclosure form, there is a section about oil tanks.
How do you know if you possibly have an oil tank? There are clues, such as the age of your home (i.e. 1920s-on, when home switched from coal to gas) or pipes in the basement, and those handy metal detectors. A specialist would be able to determine this.
Once that is disclosed, the agent will recommend specialized licensed companies to use for remediation. Companies will do a soil test to see if there were any spills around the tank. If there has been leakage, then there is a process to remove the soil and replace it with new fill.
A common practice with old tanks has been filling them with sand, but some mortgage companies may object to that course of action and require the tank be removed. If the tank placement does not harm the foundation of the home, the company will remove the tank. Of course this can be costly, but usually this cost for removing the tank is negotiated in the sale of the home. Be prepared to share the cost with the buyer, or possibly incur the cost.
If it is an active oil tank, they will test the soil, but they will leave it in the ground.
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) has a list of regulations and guidelines about underground oil tanks, and it can be very overwhelming.
And remember, tanks can be removed when the ground is not frozen, so do think about that when listing your home in New Jersey.
By Robert Northfield, a top real estate expert in the Maplewood, Millburn, South Orange, West Orange areas and surrounding towns at Keller Williams Mid-town Direct.
