HUD Home w/buried Oil Tank

[Steve K.]

Hi BP,

I'm looking at a HUD property with BURIED OIL TANK and may also need MOLD Remediation in the garage and another room.

My bigger concern is potential Oil tank leaks and soil remediation that can run thousands of $s. I called 2 tank removal companies who have quotes removal to be about $3K and remediation is another story.

Also, it impossible to know if there is a leak and how much until the tank is removed. Was also told Oil tank tests are usually inconclusive. And some Homeowner insurance companies may not even insure the oil tanks, etc

I would like to tread carefully here and had few questions and want to learn from your experiences:

Would HUD pay remediation costs? Can we put soil remediation clause in our offer?

Any there any ways to save me from $3-4K inspection costs only to find there are major leak issues?

Thank you,

[Andrea Benjaminson]

Hello Steve,

To answer your questions, the quick answer is no. HUD will not pay to do anything. You will need to pay for the inspection to know just what you are getting into. This may be something you consider passing on if the numbers don't work with the need to pay for the removal of the tank and mold. You have to at the end of the day analyze if spending the money is worth the risk of what you get back in return.