Bad soil in NJ

[KEsafire]

We have recently found our dream house but now our dream has turned to disappointment. We put our $1000 good faith deposit down and have signed a contract agreeing on a selling price. We also obtained the mortgage and we were supposed to close on 10/17. All of the inspections have been done and paid for but to our dismay we learned that the thousand gallon under ground oil tank has a major oil leak and the soil is contaminated. The testing agency is reporting it to the department of enviromental protection. So my questions are... Is the seller responsible for the clean up? If not we can't afford to do it and don't want the house. Can we back out of the purchase and if so will we get our deposit back? Also can we demand reimbursement of the money spent on all of the inspections performed. These services have cost us over a thousand dollars. Any advice you have on this matter would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[HomeGuru]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by KEsafire:
We have recently found our dream house but now our dream has turned to disappointment. We put our $1000 good faith deposit down and have signed a contract agreeing on a selling price. We also obtained the mortgage and we were supposed to close on 10/17. All of the inspections have been done and paid for but to our dismay we learned that the thousand gallon under ground oil tank has a major oil leak and the soil is contaminated. The testing agency is reporting it to the department of enviromental protection. So my questions are... Is the seller responsible for the clean up? If not we can't afford to do it and don't want the house. Can we back out of the purchase and if so will we get our deposit back? Also can we demand reimbursement of the money spent on all of the inspections performed. These services have cost us over a thousand dollars. Any advice you have on this matter would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Cancel the transaction immediately. Depending on how the contract was written, you should get your deposit back. The Seller is required to remediate the environmental hazard as the owner of record. You will not be reimbursed for your due diligence expenses unless there was a provision writte into the contract. Did the Seller disclose that there was an underground tank on the property? Are you using a real estate agent or attorney?