Why Sellers Should Remove Underground Oil Tanks Before Listing

An underground oil tank might have served its purpose well in decades past, but today it’s more of a liability than an asset. Here’s why removal is crucial before listing:

Environmental & Legal Concerns – Many older tanks are corroding, leaking oil into the soil, and creating contamination issues. Cleaning up an oil spill can cost tens of thousands of dollars—and sellers might be held responsible even after the home is sold.

Financing & Insurance Issues – Buyers often struggle to secure financing or homeowner’s insurance if a property has an underground oil tank. This limits your pool of potential buyers and prolongs time on the market.

Property Value & Marketability – Buyers today are well-informed and cautious. A home with an underground tank is a red flag that could scare off otherwise interested buyers. Removing it beforehand makes your property more attractive and eliminates negotiation headaches.

Preempting Inspection Issues – If a buyer’s inspection reveals an underground tank, they may demand testing, remediation, or outright removal—all at your expense. Handling it before listing puts sellers in control of costs and avoids last-minute surprises.

Why Buyer’s Agents Should Warn Clients Against Homes with Underground Oil Tanks

High Risk, High Cost – If the tank has leaked, the buyer becomes financially responsible for remediation—a cost that can climb into six figures. Even a “closed” tank may pose risks if proper documentation isn’t available.

Limited Insurance & Mortgage Options – Mortgage lenders and insurers often hesitate to approve properties with underground tanks. Many buyers find they’re locked out of financing or must pay higher premiums if they proceed.

Potential for Future Headaches – Even if the tank isn’t leaking now, it may eventually fail. The buyer might have to remove it themselves later, potentially dealing with soil testing, contamination cleanup, and regulatory red tape.

Don’t Assume Sellers Will Fix It – Some sellers may offer discounts instead of removing the tank, leaving the buyer to handle it later. But a discounted price rarely offsets the stress, liability, and remediation costs that could arise.

Final Takeaway

For sellers, removing an underground oil tank before listing increases buyer confidence, avoids financing delays, and eliminates potential legal issues. For buyers, purchasing a home with an underground tank poses too many risks, uncertainties, and financial burdens.

Realtors and buyer’s agents alike should advocate for full removal and documentation before any sale. Protecting your clients means addressing these risks early, ensuring smooth transactions, and preventing costly surprises down the road.

The Hidden Risk Beneath: Why Underground Heating Oil Tanks Should Be Removed Before Listing a Home

Attention Realtors & Buyer’s Agents: Selling or purchasing a home is more than just curb appeal and square footage—it’s also about mitigating risks that could cost thousands down the line. One of the most overlooked hazards? Underground heating oil tanks.

Why Sellers Should Remove Underground Oil Tanks Before Listing

An underground oil tank might have served its purpose well in decades past, but today it’s more of a liability than an asset. Here’s why removal is crucial before listing:

Environmental & Legal Concerns – Many older tanks are corroding, leaking oil into the soil, and creating contamination issues. Cleaning up an oil spill can cost tens of thousands of dollars—and sellers might be held responsible even after the home is sold.

Financing & Insurance Issues – Buyers often struggle to secure financing or homeowner’s insurance if a property has an underground oil tank. This limits your pool of potential buyers and prolongs time on the market.

Property Value & Marketability – Buyers today are well-informed and cautious. A home with an underground tank is a red flag that could scare off otherwise interested buyers. Removing it beforehand makes your property more attractive and eliminates negotiation headaches.

Preempting Inspection Issues – If a buyer’s inspection reveals an underground tank, they may demand testing, remediation, or outright removal—all at your expense. Handling it before listing puts sellers in control of costs and avoids last-minute surprises.

Why Buyer’s Agents Should Warn Clients Against Homes with Underground Oil Tanks

High Risk, High Cost – If the tank has leaked, the buyer becomes financially responsible for remediation—a cost that can climb into six figures. Even a “closed” tank may pose risks if proper documentation isn’t available.

Limited Insurance & Mortgage Options – Mortgage lenders and insurers often hesitate to approve properties with underground tanks. Many buyers find they’re locked out of financing or must pay higher premiums if they proceed.

Potential for Future Headaches – Even if the tank isn’t leaking now, it may eventually fail. The buyer might have to remove it themselves later, potentially dealing with soil testing, contamination cleanup, and regulatory red tape.

Don’t Assume Sellers Will Fix It – Some sellers may offer discounts instead of removing the tank, leaving the buyer to handle it later. But a discounted price rarely offsets the stress, liability, and remediation costs that could arise.

Final Takeaway

For sellers, removing an underground oil tank before listing increases buyer confidence, avoids financing delays, and eliminates potential legal issues. For buyers, purchasing a home with an underground tank poses too many risks, uncertainties, and financial burdens.

Realtors and buyer’s agents alike should advocate for full removal and documentation before any sale. Protecting your clients means addressing these risks early, ensuring smooth transactions, and preventing costly surprises down the road.

Attention Realtors & Buyer’s Agents: Selling or purchasing a home is more than just curb appeal and square footage—it’s also about mitigating risks that could cost thousands down the line. One of the most overlooked hazards? Underground heating oil tanks.

Why Sellers Should Remove Underground Oil Tanks Before Listing

An underground oil tank might have served its purpose well in decades past, but today it’s more of a liability than an asset. Here’s why removal is crucial before listing:

Environmental & Legal Concerns – Many older tanks are corroding, leaking oil into the soil, and creating contamination issues. Cleaning up an oil spill can cost tens of thousands of dollars—and sellers might be held responsible even after the home is sold.

Financing & Insurance Issues – Buyers often struggle to secure financing or homeowner’s insurance if a property has an underground oil tank. This limits your pool of potential buyers and prolongs time on the market.

Property Value & Marketability – Buyers today are well-informed and cautious. A home with an underground tank is a red flag that could scare off otherwise interested buyers. Removing it beforehand makes your property more attractive and eliminates negotiation headaches.

Preempting Inspection Issues – If a buyer’s inspection reveals an underground tank, they may demand testing, remediation, or outright removal—all at your expense. Handling it before listing puts sellers in control of costs and avoids last-minute surprises.

Why Buyer’s Agents Should Warn Clients Against Homes with Underground Oil Tanks

High Risk, High Cost – If the tank has leaked, the buyer becomes financially responsible for remediation—a cost that can climb into six figures. Even a “closed” tank may pose risks if proper documentation isn’t available.

Limited Insurance & Mortgage Options – Mortgage lenders and insurers often hesitate to approve properties with underground tanks. Many buyers find they’re locked out of financing or must pay higher premiums if they proceed.

Potential for Future Headaches – Even if the tank isn’t leaking now, it may eventually fail. The buyer might have to remove it themselves later, potentially dealing with soil testing, contamination cleanup, and regulatory red tape.

Don’t Assume Sellers Will Fix It – Some sellers may offer discounts instead of removing the tank, leaving the buyer to handle it later. But a discounted price rarely offsets the stress, liability, and remediation costs that could arise.

Final Takeaway

For sellers, removing an underground oil tank before listing increases buyer confidence, avoids financing delays, and eliminates potential legal issues. For buyers, purchasing a home with an underground tank poses too many risks, uncertainties, and financial burdens.

Realtors and buyer’s agents alike should advocate for full removal and documentation before any sale. Protecting your clients means addressing these risks early, ensuring smooth transactions, and preventing costly surprises down the road.

The post The Hidden Risk Beneath: Why Underground Heating Oil Tanks Should Be Removed Before Listing a Home appeared first on Barrier Contracting.

At Barrier Contracting, we have the expertise to install oil tanks at throughout White Plains, New York and ensure that the oil tank is installed safely in a cost-effective manner.  Along with oil tank installation, we also provide other services like

• Contaminated soil disposal
• Water sampling
• Soil testing
• Water testing
• Oil tank removal etc.

In case you have inherited the oil tank when you purchased your house, then it becomes important that you get an assessment done of its actual condition to save you from any unforeseen damages. We are mentioning a few important factors or a checklist which you need to closely examine before you assess or purchase an oil tank for your house.

Size of the tank: In White Plains NY, people install oil tanks of various sizes, depending upon their budget and actual requirement. The most important factors that need to be considered before finalizing the tank size are your consumption rate and reliability of supply. The most common aboveground sizes are 275 and 330 gallon, while underground oil tanks are usually 550 or 1000 gallons.

If your consumption is really low and the supply is reliable you can choose a smaller tank. But imagine vice-versa, where your consumption is high but the supply is not reliable you should choose a larger home heating oil tank.

Type of tank: There are plastic oil tanks, steel tanks, indoor tanks, outdoor tanks and underground tanks. You also have the option to choose between a single wall or double wall. You need expert help to finalize the type of tank and Barrier Contracting will help you.

Safety: You can never compromise on this factor while finalizing an oil tank for your home. Safety comes first and always ensures that you choose a tank (and location) which is safe.

Barrier Contracting is your guide and expert who will help in oil tank installation, contaminated soil disposal, water sampling, soil testing, water testing, and oil tank removal etc.

To learn more about Oil Tank Installation and get a quote, contact us today by phone or email at (914) 760-2089, (914) 760-2090 or at waynejr@barrier.com.

The post Oil Tank Installation In White Plains New York appeared first on Barrier Contracting.

Petroleum Bulk Storage (PBS) compliance can be quit complex, it requires in depth knowledge of the rules and regulations set forth by New York State Departement of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) and Westchester County Department of Health (WCDOH), as well as, the Environment Protection Agency (EPA).

If you have more than 1100 gallons of petroleum storage on your property or dispense gasoline your tanks must be registered with the Westchester County Department of Health. Along with this registration is a list of regulations you must comply with. These regulations can be confusing and hard to follow. We can help you understand and follow these regulations to make your facility compliant and safe for the environment.
Regulations can include color-coded fills, tank identification, inventory control, leak detection and various other things. We find that management companies and apartment buildings are not compliant with some regulations. If you operate or are on the board of a building with a large fuel tank, take the time to make sure you are in compliance with ALL of the environmental laws. Barrier also provides onsite remediation and/or consulting. We can help guide you through an oil, gas or diesel spill.

PBS Compliance for Registered Facilities
Clean and Paint Spill Buckets and Fills
Organize Paperwork
Site investigation

Painted Vent Pipes
Fill Port Labeling
Color Coding

• Well Installation
• Ground Water Sampling
• Soil Sampling
• Code Compliance
• Geoprobe
• Site Investagation
• PBS regulation audit
• Mock Inspections
• Inventory Control Sytems
• Overfill Prevention
• Tank Labeling
• Fill Port Cleaning

The post Petroleum Bulk Storage (PBS) Compliance for registered facilities appeared first on Barrier Contracting.

Barrier provides Excavating, Sampling and Disposing of Oil or Gasoline Contaminated Soil. There are many regulations in New York State (NYS) regarding the removal and disposal of soil that has been contaminated by oil or gasoline. The regulating agency is the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC). Information regarding these regulations can be found on their website http://www.dec.ny.gov/.

If Heating Oil, Diesel Fuel, Kerosene or Gasoline, leaks or spills in the soil, the impacted areas should be excavated and the soil safely disposed of. If you encounter this you should notify the NYSDEC spill hotline (800) 457-7362 and contact an environmental company, Barrier Contracting, LLC, for advice. The proper disposal includes collecting soil samples of the impacted soil to be analyzed by a certified lab. The samples can be collected after the soil is excavated and stockpiled or prior to excavation. The results are then sent to the licensed disposal facility for review. Once approved, the contaminated soil can be loaded and shipped to the disposal facility by a specialized hauler.

After the contaminated soil has been removed, a consultant or specialized contractor, like Barrier, collects endpoint samples from the four walls and the base. Again, these samples are sent to a certified lab to be certified. When sampling, the sampler must also fill out a chain of custody for the sample, these are usually signed by the sampler, transporter and laboratory technician. These “endpoint” or “post excavation” samples will be used to determine if all of the contamination has been removed. Once, confirmed that the soil is now free of contamination, backfill can be brought in to replace the contaminated soil that has been removed.

While this seems like a simple process, it is extremely important to hire the right professional to guide you through the process. There are many companies to choose from in Westchester and Putnam County. Be sure to ask for references or read reviews (Angie’s list is also a great tool). Choosing the wrong contractor can add to the time and cost of the clean-up. The professional must be aware of the regulations and protocols involved with cleaning up oil contamination. All of the information, analytics, manifests, weight tickets, etc, must be included in a concise report describing the work that transpired and proving the contamination has been properly removed and disposed of.

The post Excavating, Sampling and Disposing of Oil or Gasoline Contaminated Soil appeared first on Barrier Contracting.

    While most removals are done by excavator, we offer hand oil tank removal, which can minimize impact to landscaping. Our specialists are experienced and knowledgeable about the industry’s best practices, and provide excellent service every time. Trust Barrier Contracting for all your needs, from fuel oil storage tank installation to oil tank removal.

Commercial Gasoline and Oil Tank Removal

Underground heating oil tank removal by hand in Westchester County

550 Gallon underground oil tank removal and installation

The post Oil Tank Removal in Westchester and Putnam appeared first on Barrier Contracting.