[Nancy-ID]

Okay, this is way off topic but I found some property in Idaho that I am really interested in. The problem is that there is a problem with it. This: (Property to be sold "as is" with remediation cleanup for fuel oil contamination soils and 26 ft. deep well to be done by buyer after closing as shall be required by DEQ, CLA for for required disclosures & addendums prior to writing offer.) The thing is that Realtors are not giving me any answers on just what would be involved here and at what sort of cost. They are sending me to other listings. Okay, this may not be a good sign but then again maybe they just want to make more money since this place is only $69,000.00. So my question to any of you: anyone know about this stuff????

This is making me crazy! BTW, there is a shop and a garage too!

[wood-whittler]

nancy,

maybe what has happened is that a previous owner had a fuel storage tank and it has leaked fuel oil into the earth. i am no expert but from what i have heard this is a very costly repair because you may be at the mercy of the enviromental people. if it were me i would steer clear of it it may turn out to be a great big huge pain in the butt, just my opinion. hope this helps


bart

p.s some of these repairs i have heard include digging a great big hole til all traces of fuel oil are gone and then the dirt has got to be disposed of another costly venture, run girl run far away.and it also looks like that they want you to agree to have all this done before putting in an offer or after you have bought the land

[Ashbys]

Nancy
Not a good thing. This could run into the millions of dollars for the clean up. And if you purchase the property you become responable for the clean up. It sounds as if there has been underground storage tanks , like gas tanks which have had leaks resulting in the fuel oil being leached into the ground.

Ask them for the site survey information, and then contact the DNR in the area, they might be listed with the EPA as well. From the information you gave there may be a ground water issue as the well might have been used as a oil dump. If your interested in the property , tell them to get it cleaned up as the owners are responable until the sale. Quite often land like this is abandoned and the owners disapear where the local goverment in their great haste for land grabbing , take the land for back taxes and only to find out it will cost 400,000 or more to get it to a useable condition. So they drop the land on a real estate agent to get a quick sell and the new owners get stuck as the old owner could not sell it , because of the problem , the goverment can.

Also if you were to purchase it , any damage to the water supply or wildlife or if a person should get sick you will become the target for damages .
Ash

[bygeorge]

Nancy, I had a little experience with this in my line of work before I retired. Each state has a little different requirements, some more strict than others. I believe the well is probably a monitoring well that will have to be tested now and then. You will probably get into some pretty expensive disposal costs also. My advice would be to steer clear of this property. As was mentioned below, you may also have problems with ground water.

Chuck

[Kenny_S]

Nancy, Don't walk away, but run as fast as you can. I grew up on oil leases and the damage oil wells, with their salt water is enormous and the cost for cleaning up is way beyond the normal means of normal people. Back then, the government wasn't involved as they are to day. Government can be local, state, or federal or all three. Probably all three in this case.

I agree with the rest, Costly and not worth it.

Around here, The owner has to bear the cost of cleaning up before the property can be sold and or, If EPA gets involved, Daily fines are levied if the own does not comply.

[Nancy-ID]

Thanks guys, I pretty much figured all that but needed someone to really tell me that. I am disappointed but now at least I'm not going around with my hopes up. <sigh>

[Just Carving]

Nancy,

Ash is right about what you need to ask for before you can make a decision. Yes, soil contamination remediation can be a real pain. However, developers deal with it in a very sneaky way. They make you and I pay for it. How? They buy contaminated land from the government, promise to clean it up--with another government agency's financial assistance, (of course--the right hand doesn't even know there's a left hand, never mind what it's doing), and then once they get the kiss of approval from the agencies involved, they build million dollar condos or mini malls, or whatever they can build as long as the money to be made is made. Environment? Phish! We don't need no stinking environment!

Nancy, I know you're probably not going to do that. However, if you can get the land for a song, deal with the headaches of remediation--like Irish says--make the owner pay for it, you might just make out. Now there are some issues to resolve. What's the level of contamination, i.e. how much, what, and how widespread is it? If the condition of sale requires remediation, then somebody knows what's involved, and my guess is, so does the Environmental regulatory agency for the State, county or region, and/or municipality depending on how things are done in Idaho. That means there is a report of some kind somewhere. If you are really interested in the property, my suggestion is to hire lawyer who specializes in environmental law, and who can recommend a reputable engineering/environmental consultant. They will know the where and how of getting the info., and may be able to tell you what's involved and how much it will cost to clean the site up. In the event there is no report, then they can do a preliminary investigation and assessment to determine what needs to be done, and an estimate of what the costs will be. Also, they will be able to tell you how long it will take to resolve the issues that need to be addressed.

The process can be long and drawn out. The rescue squad I belong to bought property and an old municipal garage from the town for a dollar. Almost fifty years later, after granting an access easement to the phone company, they discovered three huge fuel underground tanks buried on the property--two diesel, and the worst kind, leaded gasoline--that were leaking. Needless to say, the costs were going to be astronomical. They went back to the town and to make a long story short, it was resolved at the town's cost. Close to ten years later, the site is clean, and I believe the wells are no longer being tested.

I suggest you carefuly weigh what's there at the site, before abandoning your purchase. It may be a real bad tank(s) leak, requiring full depth excavation and removal, or it may just be a tank removal, remediation of surface contamination from overfill spillage by minimal surface excavation, and well monitoring. If it's a minor situation, then you will be sorry if you lose out on the property. Good Luck.

[Nancy-ID]

Wow Bob, that is a lot of info. Thank you. It is a pretty nice little place and would be a very good investment at the price. I am hoping it is somewhat minor and that the price drop from $99,900.00 to $69,900.00 is only because the owner just wants out. BUT
My brother-iun-law who lives out there took pictures. I've attached one that he calls "strange place in dirt". Wonder if this could be the contaminated spot?

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

Don't touch it with a ten foot pole! You not only pay thru the nose for people to come out with all the hazmat equipment, you also pay thru the nose to have what is removed disposed of, then you have to buy good soil to replace it and everything else everyone else on here has mentioned....Don't Even Think About it! If it sounds too good to be true...it probably is! No Free Lunch.....anymore quips ha ha

[Knotbored]

Nancy-unless you have some personal knowlege of what contamination specifically is I would avoid that property. If it was easy fixed then the present owner would do it and increase the value for resale, or the realtor himself would.

I did a Google search for inexpensive property in Idaho and found 10 homes for 65-70K at this site (if it will copy here correvtly.)

http://www.google.com/base/search?ui...ng=aa_152&us=0