Buying in New Jersey, Union City with oil tank---HELP

[Jaago Viitkin]

Hi,

I am currently under contract and buying with a mortgage.

The owner took out an oil tank and it had a leak. The soil got cleaned and the whole is filled, but the bill is not paid yet.

The owner does not have cash and I can not buy with mortgage before the bill is paid and the cleaning company sends the results to the city. Once the city certifies the done work we can go get necessary Certificate of Ocup. and close with my mortgage.

Now the owner is offering seller financing if I close fast without the CO and pay the bill. What are my risks if I close without CO and pay the bill and get the CO later??

What if the oil cleaning company did a bad job? Are they reliable?

I am looking for a seasoned investor or broker who can take a look on a case and give me advice? Somebody who has bought and invest in Union City, New Jersey!

My lawyer says do not buy with seller financing, he says a lot of things can go wrong before I get the CO. When I ask what else can go wrong, he says every city is different and he does not know specifically.

Any ideas how could I use seller financing?? I do not mind paying for the oil cleaning if I know I can get the house. I do not want to pay for the cleaning before it is on my name, I do not want to invest in somebody's else property

ANY IDEAS? 

Thank you

[David Semer]

@Jaago Viitkin 

For me i am always cautious when it comes to Oil tank Remediation had some issues in past. If you take ownership of the house you are now on the hook for obtaining the No Further Action Letter and whatever it cost to get it. What has the seller provided to you? Do you have the soil samples. Is the package prepared to get the no further action letter and the seller just can't afford the cost of the remediation so the company who did the remediation is not releasing the letter until they get paid? If this is the case maybe you can talk to the remediation company and work out with the remediation company they will get paid on the HUD before you close with proceeds from the sale? or you could call your own remediation company get an opinion on whats going on and share any information you can get from the seller with them.

I am by no means an oil tank expert I have had a few oil tank issues i dealt with I would double check anything out with your attorney make sure he knows about oil tank issues because he represent you.  Please message me if I can be of any other help or if you need an oil tank specialist.

Good luck.