Selling your Home? Have an Underground Heating Oil Tank?

Oil Tank Leak Rates Reported in Real Estate Publications Real Estate Publications, while reluctant to scare home owners and buyers by aggressive reporting on leaky oil tanks (which can involve a very large cleanup expense), also cite the concern for leaking oil tanks.

"Statistics indicate as many as 25% of all Underground storage tanks (USTs) may now be leaking. These underground tanks may hold oil or gas but can most frequently be found at homes heated with oil. Over time, there is a tendency for these older tanks to corrode and leak their contents into the ground and possibly into the ground water. Because of the great expense involved in cleaning up the contamination caused by leaking tanks, it behooves those that have older underground tanks, to have them or the soil tested."