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I'm new to this forum and first time posting here. I'm seeking some advices from all of you experts.
I'm in the process of buying a house in University Garden (Great Neck) in Long Island. The contract was signed about a month ago. Inspection, bank appraisal was done. The bank commitment letter finally approved this week. We are planning to close the house at the end of September.
The condition of the house is above average. The owner took really good care of it and has done some efficient improvement. He removed the hot water tank and replaced an instant hot water heater (not sure if that's what it's called.) All the windows are fairly new and well insulated. The house uses oil heating with an in-the-basement oil tank and gas cooking stove. The water boiler is gas conversion ready. He installed wall-mounted air conditioner unit with the main unit being on the outside wall. One until is cool enough for the entire second floor.
During the house inspection, the engineer noticed that there is a pipeline on the sidewalk outside the house (see attached picture.) He said that there might be an underground oil tank. I asked the owner about this and he said he is not aware of an underground oil tank. He is the third owner and the second owner already had an in-the-basement oil tank when he bought the house. I should mention the funny thing about the inspection is that we both hired the same engineer to inspect the same house. His was done 12 years ago and the engineer didn’t mention about the pipeline issue but he did a month ago.
The house was built in 1926. Both the owner and I contacted the Nassau County Department of Health and kind of gotten the same result. The department do not have record of an oil tank prior to 1986, and any underground oil tank under 1100 are not being regulated.
Based on this result, the owner does not believe there is an underground oil tank and he has no idea what that pipeline is. He is not willing to spend extra money to hire a professional to inspect the issue.
Now for my questions: with the contract already signed and we are about 1 month from closing, should I worried about this issue? If there is an underground oil tank but it's not regulated by the department of health, should I worry about it? Should I worry about leaks if the tank do exists? Should I close with all of these concerns? What argument can I use to have the owner take care of this? The contract is already signed and 10% of down payment already deposited into the buyer attorney's escrow account. If there is an underground tank and owner is not doing anything, can I get my deposit back?
Thanks for readying my long post and I hope I can get some good advices.
Peter
P.S. I’m very excited about moving to Great Neck with great schools.
First of all, if you both used to same engineer, why don't you ask him why this didn't come up 12 years ago - was it there? Does he still have the report?
Second, as someone who just sold their Nassau County house with a properly abandoned oil tank, I have to say I would find it very unusual that the fill pipe would be in the sidewalk. Is this the public sidewalk or is it on the property?
Third if the county has no record of an underground oil tank, I can't see how this could come back to haunt you at a later date. Yes, they do not regulate tanks under 1100 gallons, but they do "talk about" doing so, so you have a legit concern, however I can't see how this can come back to bite you.
4th, inspection issues should be addressed in the contract. If you signed a contract, you are probably SOL right now for getting out of it for any reason other than financing falling thru - again I am not an expert on this issue. But the whole point of an inspection is to require certain things in the contract. If my buyers asked me for anything big after the contract was signed I would've said "NO". As it was we didn't agree to everything they asked for on the inspection.
5th abandoning an oil tank is no big deal. Ours was 550 gallons and cost $825 and it took about 30 minutes.
If it is or was a tank simply remove lid and sniff.Even if oil was drained 12 years ago you will smell it.
If it is in backyard it may have been a well from years ago.Look inside your house closest to where pipe is and look for where oil line would've come in.We just abandoned a 1000 gl tank and it cost $1200 to fill with foam.Good luck but I wouldn't let it deter me from buying the house.
twingles: The owner showed me his report and it didn't indicate the issue with the pipeline. Maybe the engineer missed it back then? The pipeline opening is on the public sidewalk right outside the house. If the underground tank (if there is one) is not regulated by the county and leaks in the future, does this mean I'm not liable for the cleanup? Who will do the clean up then?
BigBlue: how do I remove the lid? Does regular house tools works? I like the house but just don't want this to be a problem down the road.
Just use a pipe wrench or a 10" adjustable. You may have to tap it with a hammer if it's been on a long time.Also judging by to concrete repair it could be where a lightpole was and owner just sealed it that way.Pop the lid...you won't harm anything. Worst case scenario...it's an old 1000 gl tank and down the road you'll need to fill it.Owner should be held accountable for costs but worrying about a $1000 repair on a house purchase is like concerning yourself with monkies throwing coconuts when the elephants are stampeding.
I wish I could give you advice but I dont know the laws re oil tanks and nassau county. I would like to hear what they are.
But the only thing I am thinking is, why did you sign the contract before the inspection was done and issues addressed? I hate to kick you while you are down but that's the point of the inspection. I am sorry that you are in this position. I hope you get some resolution soon.
I wish I could give you advice but I dont know the laws re oil tanks and nassau county. I would like to hear what they are.
But the only thing I am thinking is, why did you sign the contract before the inspection was done and issues addressed? I hate to kick you while you are down but that's the point of the inspection. I am sorry that you are in this position. I hope you get some resolution soon.
I signed the contract after the inspection. After contacting the Nassau county Department of Health myself and was told that no record was found, I signed the contract. My wife and I really like the house so we went ahead. Just recently some friends mentioned the problem of the underground oil tank that started me thinking again.
Opening the lid method would work but I'll have to convince the owner to let me do it.
I signed the contract after the inspection. After contacting the Nassau county Department of Health myself and was told that no record was found, I signed the contract. My wife and I really like the house so we went ahead. Just recently some friends mentioned the problem of the underground oil tank that started me thinking again.
Opening the lid method would work but I'll have to convince the owner to let me do it.
I think I would just let it go to be honest. I would be afraid opening that would cause more harm than good. JMO though. I think there are so many out there that to pass up a house for this possibility is just not worth losing a house you really want (when the next house could have an underground tank too, kwim)?
I saw you said pipe is on public sidewalk outside the house? If it is the homeowner has no say on whether you can open it but how close to house is it.A fill spout for an inground tank would be within only a few feet at most from house.Inground tanks are usually placed on side or rear of house.Walk down the street and see if any neighbors have same pipe.Again...I wouldn't stress over it too much.
Is that on your property line where a survey marker might be located?
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