What a buyer's attorney does when an oil tank turns up
Two things have to hold for a listed sale to reach closing: the buyer's nerve and the buyer's lender. A buried oil tank has a habit of taking out both.
The buyer imagines a worst case, because nobody has given them a better one. The lender sees an environmental question against the property it is about to secure a mortgage on and wants it resolved before funding. Either one alone ends the contract, and the house goes back on the Westbury market with more days on it and a story attached to the oil tank.
How we help Westbury owners with a buried oil tank
We buy houses with buried oil tanks regularly, which means we already know who does this work properly and roughly what it runs. That is the practical difference between us and a buyer meeting the problem for the first time.
We have environmental contractors and tank companies we have used for years, and we bring them in on our own account after closing rather than asking you to line anything up first. You do not test, you do not excavate, you do not chase a decades-old permit. And if it turns out you would come out ahead removing the oil tank and listing the house on the open market, we will say so and hand you the contractor we would call ourselves.
Why local knowledge changes the number
A four-bedroom on Sunnyside Lane. A three-bedroom on Montauk Court. A house on Lewis Avenue. All of them in Westbury, all bought by us.
Westbury is roughly 15,864 people in Nassau County, ZIP 11590, and the housing stock is mostly cape cod, colonial, ranch. Around Post Avenue and Jericho Turnpike, most of it is old enough that the mechanicals are on their second or third life. The Westbury stop pulls buyers who commute, which supports the good houses and does very little for the ones that need a roof. We know which of these streets take water, where the older systems fail first, and what the Westbury Union Free School District does to a resale price.
You do not need to test the oil tank before you call us
If the oil tank has already been tested, bring the paperwork and it saves a conversation. If it has not, do not commission anything on our behalf.
A test tells you whether product has reached the soil. That is genuinely useful if you intend to list on the open market, because a clean result is something a retail buyer can hold on to. It is not something we need before making an offer, because we are buying the tank and the ground it sits in either way.
What happens when a buried oil tank has leaked into the soil
Signs that an oil tank leaked are sometimes obvious and sometimes not. A smell in the basement after heavy rain, staining, a neighbor who remembers work being done. Often there is nothing at all to see.
If you suspect it leaked, an environmental contractor is the person who can actually answer that, and there are reporting considerations in New York your attorney should walk you through. We are not asking you to resolve any of it before selling. We are telling you what the road looks like so you can decide with your eyes open.
What the two paths cost in Westbury
These are the two routes open to you with a house with a buried oil tank, priced against what Westbury houses actually sell for.
Work it against Westbury's own numbers. The median sale here is $801,000. A 5% commission on that is $40,050, and seller closing costs of about 2% add roughly $16,020. Those are costs we can cover on our side. That is $56,070 gone before anyone counts the repairs it took to get the house listable.
There are two waits in a listed sale and people usually only count the first. In Westbury the median house takes about 41 days to go from listed to a signed contract. Then it waits again, typically 45 to 60 days, while the buyer's lender orders an appraisal and underwrites the loan. Call it 86 to 101 days from sign to keys, assuming nothing goes wrong.
The part worth understanding is what a signed contract actually guarantees, which is less than most sellers assume. A retail buyer with a mortgage contingency can walk away right up to the end. If they do not qualify, if the appraisal comes in under the price, if they change their mind and let the financing lapse. A share of deals die exactly there, after months of waiting, and the house goes back on the market with time on it. We are not borrowing anything, so there is no lender to satisfy, no appraisal to come in low and no contingency to exercise.
| Listing with an agent | Selling to us | |
|---|---|---|
| Sale price | $801,000 (Westbury median) | Our written offer |
| Commission | −$40,050 | None |
| Seller closing costs | −$16,020 | We can cover them |
| Repairs before listing | Out of pocket | None |
| Cleanout | Yours | Ours |
| Showings | Until it sells | One visit |
| Listed to signed contract | 41 days (Westbury median, once listable) | 24 hours to a written offer |
| Contract to closing | 45 to 60 days (waiting on the buyer's lender) | A date you choose |
| Total wait | 86 to 101 days if nothing falls through | Yours to set |
| Can the buyer walk? | Yes (mortgage contingency runs to the end) | No financing to fall through |
| Before repairs and carrying | $744,930 | The number we put in writing |
For the listing side we have used a 5% commission and about 2% in seller closing costs; your real figures may differ. Repairs and carrying costs are left out because they depend on the house. If yours is in good shape, a good agent may well get you more than we would, and we will tell you if so.
Why cash matters when there is an oil tank in the yard
The reason cash matters here is not really speed. It is that nobody else is grading the property. A mortgage lender has a view about unresolved environmental items and will hold funding until it is satisfied, and satisfying it means contractors, invoices and clearance paperwork, all completed before closing.
We use our own funds. There is no underwriter looking at the oil tank and no condition to clear. We close on the date you choose, with the tank exactly where it is.
What you do not pay when you sell a house with a buried oil tank
These are the costs of putting a house with a buried oil tank on the market through an agent. None of them apply when you sell to us.
- Agent commission
- $40,050 at 5% of the Westbury median none
- Seller closing costs
- About $16,020 on a $801,000 sale. We can cover these. none
- Repairs to make it listable
- Whatever the house needs, paid up front none
- Cleanout and removal
- Paid per load, before a single buyer walks through none
- Carrying costs while it waits
- Taxes, insurance and utilities while you spend 86 to 101 days finding a buyer and waiting for their loan none
Telling us everything, and what you owe a buyer
New York has disclosure obligations for sellers, and what applies to your situation is a legal question. Ask your attorney about the oil tank before you sell to anyone, ourselves included.
Separately from that: tell us. Nothing you say about the tank will make us withdraw, and everything you say makes the number more accurate the first time. The sales that fall apart are the ones built on incomplete information, and that serves nobody.
Common questions
Do I have to remove the oil tank before you buy a Westbury house?
No. We buy with the oil tank in the ground. Removal is our cost and our project after closing, not something you arrange first.
How do I know whether there is still an oil tank buried in my yard?
The usual signs are a capped fill pipe or vent on the side of the house, a boiler that was converted to gas, or copper lines running to nowhere in the basement. A tank company can sweep the yard and settle it. Your town's building department may also hold records for the address.
What if the oil tank leaked?
A leak widens the work, and there may be reporting considerations in New York, which is a question for your attorney and an environmental contractor. From our side we still buy. Tell us early so the offer is right the first time.
A buyer walked away over the oil tank. Does that hurt my chances with you?
No. Most Westbury owners who call us about a buried oil tank have already had a contract die on it. That is the usual route here, not a mark against the property.
Does the oil tank change what you can pay?
It affects the number the way any real cost does, because the removal and whatever the ground needs have to be paid for by somebody. What it does not do is end the conversation.