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| Buyer Beware: Buried Oil Tanks |
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(April 24, 2007) --
More than 400,000 U.S. properties contain buried and potentially leaking heating oil tanks, according to a survey of government records by Environmental Data Resources, a company that identifies environmental hazards.
Many of the tanks identified in government records were buried decades ago, and their existence is often unknown by the current resident. But concern over these aging tanks is increasing in many communities, leaving open the possibility that an unsuspecting home buyer could find himself faced with the cost of removing the tank and removing any contamination that had occurred.
EDR recommends that home buyers investigate whether there might be a buried oil tank on any property they are considering purchasing by questioning the seller and by hiring an inspector who is trained in assessing this kind of issue. Often old municipal records contain information about positioning of these tanks. |
| Reprinted from REALTOR® Magazine Online (http://www.realtor.org/realtormag) April 2007 with permission of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. Copyright 2007. All rights reserved. |
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