Q: What’s the best way to find out if a property has an oil tank before you buy it? Randy, Hackensack, NJ A: Sometimes you can actually see an oil tank if it’s above ground like in a property’s basement. You can also contact the town where the property is located or the department of environmental protection to find out if there are any records of oil tanks being removed. Oil tanks are often underground, so the safest way to proceed is to hire a specialist to do a tank scan of the property–normally using a metal detector to locate underground tanks. If they find a tank, you’ll need someone to test the ground for contamination and worst case scenario […]
continue readingQ: Gerald, my wife and I found a home we want to buy but it has an oil tank buried in the front yard. What should we do? Evan, Jersey City A: Good question, Evan. The first thing you should do if you’re buying a property with an oil tank is to do a soil test to check for contamination. There are underground oil tank inspection companies that specialize in this so it shouldn’t be hard for you to find a company in your area to do it. In addition to doing the soil test, to be safe, I would suggest removing the oil tank altogether before you close on the property. When you remove an oil tank, you want […]
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