Underground oil tanks

[dma1250]

Originally Posted by kletter1mann

What's your basis for this statement? I've never heard a peep from my insurance about it. Nor has anybody I know with an underground tank, including all my neighbors.

Ditto. My underground tank has never been an issue with my homeowners insurance. As I said before, pretty much everyone in my area has an underground tank and no one has ever had a problem.

[stibgo]

Have the seller remove the tank and get a certificate of inspection from the city or town. I have had 3 tanks removed. Get them out.
My understanding is that tank insurance covers the tank while in the ground, not any leakage from the process of removal. The insurance is offered by the oil delivery company and there is no guarantee that they will continue to offer the insurance.
Homeowners insurance probably has limits on oil spills. Check your policy.

[Dewdroplet76]

We just bought a house that does not have an oil tank (underground or otherwise) but the first house that we bid on did have one underground. That became a major point of contention for us. My husband did some research on the web - and it just seemed like a good idea for us to get it out of the ground. We wanted the seller to do it - so that they remained liable for it. They refused and we passed on the house. However, they have taken their house off the market - so they weren't in a real hurry to sell it.
If there is something wrong with the tank - it can cost a ton of money. I know that problems are not the norm - that most of them are just fine - it was just a risk that we weren't willing to take. Also, we heard - and this could be just mere rumor so please don't quote me on this - that eventually, the EPA or whoever it is that is in charge of this, was going to make underground oil tanks obsolete and make everyone take them out of the ground and put them above.
I know that you are going to here people from both sides of this saying - TAKE IT OUT, DON'T TAKE IT OUT!!! I guess it's just a personal choice. We opted to pass on the house that wouldn't take it out and ended up finding a much better house that didn't even have one to worry about!

[dma1250]

Originally Posted by Dewdrop93

Also, we heard - and this could be just mere rumor so please don't quote me on this - that eventually, the EPA or whoever it is that is in charge of this, was going to make underground oil tanks obsolete and make everyone take them out of the ground and put them above.

That was surprising to me so I emailed a friend who is the site engineer at a big Westchester architecture firm. His job is to work with the town, state, and federal governments and make sure all of their projects meet every possible rule and requirement. He replied that he's never heard anything like that. He said his firm puts underground oil tanks in lots of their residential projects and that it has never been a problem with any agency--or with selling the properties. He's working on two projects right now in which they're putting tanks in the ground.

[Dewdroplet76]

Like I said, it could be just a rumor - but someone told us that. I'm sure if you have an underground oil tank and that is what you are used to - then you are comfortable with it. We are moving from the city - so everything is new to us. When we googled "underground oil tank" - so many articles came up siting the risk involved that we just decided it wasn't something we wanted to deal with. It's just all about personal preference and what you are comfortable with.

[dma1250]

Originally Posted by Dewdrop93

Like I said, it could be just a rumor - but someone told us that. I'm sure if you have an underground oil tank and that is what you are used to - then you are comfortable with it. We are moving from the city - so everything is new to us. When we googled "underground oil tank" - so many articles came up siting the risk involved that we just decided it wasn't something we wanted to deal with. It's just all about personal preference and what you are comfortable with.

I totally understand--my wife and I were both born and bred in Brooklyn. When we moved up from the city the idea of buying an old farmhouse with a well and septic was totally scary for us. 8 years later the fact that animals try to get into my garbage cans and that strong winds can cause blackouts still strike me as crazy and totally Little House on the Prairie.

So I googled "underground oil tank" and this is what I learned:

--the vast majority of problems occur with steel tanks, which the government stopped the production of in 1986 because they are prone to leaking;

--tanks made after 1986 are far less likely to have leaks;

--while most places do not regulate underground tanks, Westchester is one of the 5 counties in NY that does, which means that there are strict rules and safety guidelines regarding underground tanks (as I said in an earlier post, when we had ours replaced the DEP monitored the entire process);

--some underground tank insurance does not cover the total costs of remediation in case of a leak, but most policies do (I checked and mine covers total costs of any remediation due to any problem, including those that occur during removal).