Submitted by Sandra Hanis

It seemed like there would be no problem. Our buyer found a great home in Southeast Portland with some gorgeous gardens. The newer gas furnace gave no hint that there was an oil tank but when we looked over the tax records, it showed there was an oil furnace at one time. We of course stated on the sales contract that the buyer would do a test to locate whether there was an abandoned tank in the ground. We were told the seller had the paperwork to show an oil tank had been decommissioned. Fortunately the listing agent said she would get the papers issued from DEQ (Dept of Environmental Quality). When the seller went to provide the papers, we learned that the company that did the decommissioning is now out of business and never went that final necessary step. The good news was that we started this inquiry during the 10 day inspection period so there was time for the tank locator to do the necessary inspection on the soil and if it is needed, the seller is willing to do any needed clean up and provide DEQ certification. My buyer knows that they will need to deal with this later with another buyer so they must have the DEQ certification. Also if you do not have DEQ certification and rules change in the future, you would probably need to meet new requirements. In this instance, everyone was working together to make this sale happen and by doing so the seller was able to move on and my buyer was delighted with their new place!  You can learn more about oil tanks at RobLevy.com under recommended links.