Seller disclosure

[kflinn]

Virginia

We bought a 50 year old house recently and only after the previous owners moved out did we discover that an unused 250 gallon oil tank located in the crawlspace under the house (we knew about it) had been slowly and steadily leaking for a number of years. Our home inspector turned out to be less than stellar, missing a number of things he shouldn't have missed re: plumbing, wiring, etc., and seemed to have been asleep at the wheel around the oil tank.
There is no way the previous owner was unaware of the leak as A) the smell was terrible (they told us it was cleaning products) and B) it was apparent when he moved his items from the crawlspace.

My question is, then, who is at fault, the inspector or the previous owner, and what recourse do we have to remove the tainted soil without paying for the removal ourselves?

[rowz]

If your title company, mortgage lender and lawyer let this go through, then the odds aree that youare now resonsible. With that said give a call to the State or County Environmental services [or whatever it is callled there] department and make inquiriries about a leakig UOST - Underground Oil Storage Tank.
Here in NJ there are some very detailed laws about who is liable for what in these cases. There may even be some liability by the oil delivery company and/or homeomwners insurance company.

Good luck. Proper remediation of these things can cost MANY thousands of $$.

OR...you could go to an environmental law attorney for a consulation. Bring all documents relatingg to the purchase and home inspection.

[HomeGuru]

Originally Posted by kflinn

Virginia

We bought a 50 year old house recently and only after the previous owners moved out did we discover that an unused 250 gallon oil tank located in the crawlspace under the house (we knew about it) had been slowly and steadily leaking for a number of years. Our home inspector turned out to be less than stellar, missing a number of things he shouldn't have missed re: plumbing, wiring, etc., and seemed to have been asleep at the wheel around the oil tank.
There is no way the previous owner was unaware of the leak as A) the smell was terrible (they told us it was cleaning products) and B) it was apparent when he moved his items from the crawlspace.

My question is, then, who is at fault, the inspector or the previous owner, and what recourse do we have to remove the tainted soil without paying for the removal ourselves?

**A: the seller and home inspector is at fault. Did the seller disclose the tank? Now you have an EPA issue.