New Home Buyer: Oil heat problems? (1 Viewer)

[Ronald Epstein]

I thought I found the home I had been looking for. I put
a bid in for it yesterday.

This morning my realtor called me and said "you know, this
house has in-ground oil heat." Not knowing any better I
told him I didn't mind.....

....that is, until I talked with my co-workers who essentially
warned me about going with in-ground oil heating. Some of
the problems brought up were tank deterioration which causes
leakage, etc.

I'm now leaning towards cancelling my bid on the house as
I don't want to have to deal with in-ground oil heat. Even
before I buy the house I'd have to pay someone to test it
and/or have it emptied and raised above ground.

Gas heat seems like the better way to go.

Your thoughts?

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Another option is to lower the bid price on the home to reflect the cost of replacing the oil-burning furnace with a new gas furnace. The cost should be somewhere between $2,000 and $4,000, depending on the size of the home.

 

[Chu Gai]

I'd shy away from it. The costs of excavating such a tank and the attendent costs to clean the soil and dispose of contaminated soil are not for the faint of heart.

 

[Bob Graz]

I agree, you don't want an inground oil tank. It will eventually leak, if it isn't already and when it does it's an environmental impact with all the costs associated with that.

 

[Tom Fynan]

Here in CT you cannot sell a home if it has an in-ground oil tank. It is the seller's responsibility to have it removed, have the soil tested for leakage, and install a tank in the basement. That's what we did when we sold our home 4 years ago. If that is not the law in NJ, I would negotiate with the seller to have them remove the tank as part of the deal. If I remember, it is a $2000-$3000 expense. If the soil is contaminated with oil, it is very expensive to have it cleaned up. That's why you should make it the seller's problem.

Good luck.

 

[RobertR]

True. A leaking underground tank is a big problem for the responsible party.

 

[Al.Anderson]

As all the posters have mentioned, it's the in-ground aspect that's the problem. As far as oil vs gas I happen to like oil better. They've flip-flopped on price over the years, but oil has been the better deal for a while now.

Even more impartant to me is baseboard vs hot air. Hot air is much more drafty and dusty. You'll need the ducts for central air, but given a choice I'd still go with baseboard for the heating.

 

[ChrisMatson]

Looks like some sound advice is available here:
http://www.gwarreninc.com/in-ground-...k-testing.html

I would either not buy the house or make the sellers deal with the tank.

 

[JoeyR]

Ronald, I would put in my 2 cents but we dont have oil heat down here

 

[Orlando]

Hey Ron,

In NY it is also required by the seller to deal with it. The old oil tank is allowed by law to be abandoned. What they do is empty out the tank (either by use or pumped out) then a special foam is pumped in and then they give you a piece of paper then done. I would talk it over with the sellers to get some estimates or if you could get your own and then work it into the deal. More then anything it has to do with how much you like the house and how hard was it to find, price whatever. When my wife and I looked it took us over a year to find a house we really liked so making some concessions was not a problem for us.