[frankmaraschino]

My wife and I have rented for two years in Daytona Beach, and are looking to buy a home -- preferably Beachside, where we currently live.

A large number of the houses we've looked at have underground oil tanks, some still in use, some not. I know in some parts of the country, especially in the NE, home buyers react to UGSTs like they were dirty bombs, and horror stories abound of six figure liability for ground contamination.

Down here the attitude toward these underground tanks seems less hysterical, although my wife has a friend who couldn't get homeowners insurance for her Beachside house until the sellers agreed to dig up an abandoned tank that was on the property and have the soil tested.

What do you think our attitude toward buying a house with an underground oil tank should be?

[jambo101]

With so many houses for sale you have the luxury of just avoiding homes that have buried oil tanks,.I'd steer clear of homes with under ground tanks not because i think they would pose an environmental problem but they'd be hell on the resale value of the house or getting some one to actually buy the house if you decided to sell it in the future.

[gypsychic]

Originally Posted by jambo101

With so many houses for sale you have the luxury of just avoiding homes that have buried oil tanks,.I'd steer clear of homes with under ground tanks not because i think they would pose an environmental problem but they'd be hell on the resale value of the house or getting some one to actually buy the house if you decided to sell it in the future.

What he said ^^^.

[HarryWho?]

I have to agree that it's probably better to avoid, but, if you really like the house, ask around about a tank maintenance company that would remove it. If you get an environmental (spill) company involved, it will be big bucks. Tank maintenance can usually do it for a fraction of the cost. That is, if it's intact and hasn't leaked.

[jdoty]

Are you sure they're oil tanks and not propane tanks? I've never heard of anyone using heating oil in Florida, but in areas where natural gas isn't available it's not uncommon for houses to use propane for their stove and dryer.

[HarryWho?]

Originally Posted by jdoty

Are you sure they're oil tanks and not propane tanks? I've never heard of anyone using heating oil in Florida, but in areas where natural gas isn't available it's not uncommon for houses to use propane for their stove and dryer.

I was just reading that there are thousands of oil tanks in Volusia and that the county will come out and remove the oil for free.

[frankmaraschino]

Thanks for your replies. These tanks are heating oil, not propane. In Ormond Beach, beachside, they're everywhere -- and not always listed in the sellers disclosure. We looked at a home yesterday up in Ormond-by-the-Sea where our realtor noticed the fill pipe. The tank, which was abandoned, was underneath a driveway slab one of the owners poured on the near side if the house.

I'm going to talk to the county DEP tomorrow to find out more about these tanks.

[crazynip]

I never heard of homes in Florida having oil tanks for furnaces. That seems pretty stypid, it dont get cold enough here for it.

[jdoty]

Originally Posted by frankmaraschino

Thanks for your replies. These tanks are heating oil, not propane. In Ormond Beach, beachside, they're everywhere -- and not always listed in the sellers disclosure. We looked at a home yesterday up in Ormond-by-the-Sea where our realtor noticed the fill pipe. The tank, which was abandoned, was underneath a driveway slab one of the owners poured on the near side if the house.

I'm going to talk to the county DEP tomorrow to find out more about these tanks.

Very interesting! I had no clue anyone used heating oil here in Florida.

[ilyalorenko]

Originally Posted by frankmaraschino

Thanks for your replies. These tanks are heating oil, not propane. In Ormond Beach, beachside, they're everywhere -- and not always listed in the sellers disclosure. We looked at a home yesterday up in Ormond-by-the-Sea where our realtor noticed the fill pipe. The tank, which was abandoned, was underneath a driveway slab one of the owners poured on the near side if the house.

I'm going to talk to the county DEP tomorrow to find out more about these tanks.

Did you ever find out about the oil tanks... Looking in the area also and not much information regarding buried oil tanks and the liability...