Why a buried oil tank stops a Huntington sale
The median house in Huntington sold for $935,000 and took about 38 days to go under contract, then another 45 to 60 days waiting on the buyer's mortgage. That is 83 to 98 days in total, for a house that was ready to show on day one. That is the ordinary path, and an oil tank in the ground tends to interrupt it.
The problem is not really the steel. It is liability. A buyer's attorney sees an unremoved oil tank and thinks about what happens if it leaked, because whoever owns the property afterward inherits that question. Lenders are no keener on an unresolved environmental item sitting against their collateral. So the contract stalls while everyone works out who is paying to find out, and a stalled Huntington contract has a way of never restarting.
What we take on with a buried oil tank, and who we call
The most useful thing we can give somebody with a buried oil tank is proportion. Owners get quoted alarming figures, buyers imagine worse, and nobody in the transaction actually knows what is under the lawn.
We have bought and remediated enough of these to have a view. The age of the house, where the fill pipe and vent sat, how the conversion to gas was handled, what similar Huntington properties have turned up when the excavator arrived. Tell us what you know about the oil tank, even if that is almost nothing, and we will tell you plainly what usually happens next.
Why local knowledge changes the number
A five-bedroom on Broadview Drive. A house on Harmon Drive. Both in Huntington, bought and paid for by us.
Huntington is roughly 19,474 people in Suffolk County, ZIP 11743, and the housing stock is mostly victorian, colonial, tudor. Around Heckscher Museum of Art and Paramount Theater, most of it is old enough that the mechanicals are on their second or third life. The Huntington stop pulls buyers who commute, which supports the good houses and does very little for the ones that need a roof. We have been buying across Suffolk County for 15+ years. We know what the Huntington Union Free School District does to a resale price, which blocks still have oil tanks in the ground, and what a house like yours is actually worth here.
You do not need to test the oil tank before you call us
Sellers spend real money testing an oil tank because they assume a buyer will demand it. We do not ask for a test and we do not ask for removal.
There is a version of this where you pay for the testing, the result raises a further question, and you end up funding the answer to that as well, on a house you are leaving. We would rather price the oil tank from what we can see and from what these jobs generally cost, and give you a number that holds.
What happens when a buried oil tank has leaked into the soil
The worst case with a buried oil tank is that product got out and traveled, and then you are dealing with soil rather than steel. It is a real scenario and it is why buyers get nervous.
We price for it. Our offers on tank houses assume the oil tank is a live question rather than a formality, which is why our number tends to hold once we have given it. If the excavation turns out clean, that is our upside. We would rather carry that risk than hand it back to you halfway through a closing.
What the two paths cost in Huntington
These are the two routes open to you with a house with a buried oil tank, priced against what Huntington houses actually sell for.
Work it against Huntington's own numbers. The median sale here is $935,000. A 5% commission on that is $46,750, and seller closing costs of about 2% add roughly $18,700. Those are costs we can cover on our side. That is $65,450 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 Huntington the median house takes about 38 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 83 to 98 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 | $935,000 (Huntington median) | Our written offer |
| Commission | −$46,750 | None |
| Seller closing costs | −$18,700 | We can cover them |
| Repairs before listing | Out of pocket | None |
| Cleanout | Yours | Ours |
| Showings | Until it sells | One visit |
| Listed to signed contract | 38 days (Huntington 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 | 83 to 98 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 | $869,550 | The number we put in writing |
The listing column assumes a 5% commission and seller closing costs of about 2%. Both vary. We have not subtracted repairs or the cost of carrying the house while it sits, because those depend on the property. A house in good condition listed with a good agent can absolutely beat a cash offer, and we will say so if that is your situation.
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
- $46,750 at 5% of the Huntington median none
- Seller closing costs
- About $18,700 on a $935,000 sale. We can cover these. none
- Repairs to make it listable
- Whatever the house needs, paid up front none
- Cleanout and removal
- Charged by the truckload, and done before the first showing none
- Carrying costs while it waits
- Taxes, insurance and utilities while you spend 83 to 98 days finding a buyer and waiting for their loan none
What to do next about the oil tank at your Huntington house
The next step is short. Tell us what you know about the oil tank, we come and look once, and you have a written number within a day.
No test, no excavation, no cleanout, and no sign on the lawn in Huntington. If what we see suggests you would do better pulling the oil tank and listing the house properly, we will tell you that instead, and point you at the contractor we use ourselves.
Common questions
Do I have to remove the oil tank before you buy a Huntington 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 Huntington 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.