THE PROBLEM WITH RESIDENTIAL HEATING OIL STORAGE TANKS

If you live on Martha’s Vineyard the most common fuel sources are Propane and Oil, oil having been the most commonly used for decades not to mention the most efficient (BTU) heating source. 

Before I discuss the problem I want to explain that Martha’s Vineyard Island is a very fragile ecosystem relying on a common aquifer for its drinking water. Once that aquifer has been compromised to the point that it is no longer potable – suitable for drinking, life will change.  I am not saying we are doomed, but our quality of life will suffer significantly.  Right now, today, we are still in good shape and I know my drinking (well) water is delicious.

We have done a lot to protect the ground water with the implementation and regulation of engineered Title 5 waste water systems and limited expansion of the sewer system networks, but that is topic for another conversation.

First of all, residential “consumptive” use fuel oil storage tanks are not regulated by the Federal Government.  The Fed focuses on the commercial sector because the fuel containers are huge (e.g. gas stations, etc.) and the consequences of a breach would be catastrophic.  Normally, for residential consumption, whether the oil storage tank is above or below ground the capacity is between 275 and 288 gallons.

In my two and half decades in the real estate business on Martha’s Vineyard I have witnessed some very unfortunate costly mishaps concerning fuel oil storage tanks.  For example, two 275 gallon single wall storage tanks above ground connected in series; one tank begins to leak and siphons the second tank’s contents out and into the earth below.  Why did no one notice what was happening? Because the owners were absentee seasonal occupants like so many other property owners on Martha’s Vineyard. The area had to be excavated and all – I mean ALL, of the contaminated soil had to be removed, and then it had to be carted off-Island to an approved disposal center for HAZARDOUS WASTE materials.  Would you like to guess how much that cost?  In another situation a tank leaked in a basement in a heavily populated area. The basement had to be excavated as did a portion of the exterior beyond the foundation. Soil samples had to be taken not only at the subject property but for the properties abutting the area of the fuel oil spill.  Also, the contaminated earth had to be packed into dozens of large storage drums for transfer off Island. Would you like to guess how much that cost?

Single wall steel fuel oil storage tanks have been used since before I was born, but they don’t last forever and like everything else it seems, the quality has diminished.  Normally, the wall thickness of a 275 gallon single wall tank is 12 gauge but when “off shore” tanks were introduced into this country, quality control suffered.  

Thus, the introduction of the ROTH stainless steel “double wall” fuel oil storage tank. However, they are not cheap. You can buy a single wall 275 gallon tank for about $1000.00, whereas a ROTH tank will cost you triple that amount – but you will have it forever, if there is such a thing.

Is there an alternative or “band aide” if you don’t have $3500?  There is a company, Boston Environmental that has been administering the TankSure Program inspection services for a number of years.  I recently observed a demonstration and I have to admit, even though this is a serious matter, it made me chuckle. Why? Because it reminded me of a pregnancy ultrasound. First they smear some clear jell on the transducer probe that is used to send and receive sound waves, then they move the probe around, usually to 10-12 locations along the lower tank wall while reading the measurements on a digital display.  

Through analysis the condition of the tank is rated.  The generally accepted minimum wall thickness measurement to pass a tank is 0.100”.  If the average is significantly less than that the tank will fail the inspection. 

Some companies offer incentives and a limited warranty, but in my opinion there are no guarantees even though the tank passes the test.  If the test results are marginal you may be advised to have the tank replaced or at the very least tested every year. Some fuel oil companies may even refuse to fill a tank that is below the accepted range.  What do I tell my Buyer Clients? REPLACE THE TANK with a ROTH tank.

So, if you are as concerned about contamination to our aquifer as I am and you heat your home with fuel oil but cannot afford to replace your single wall tank right now, what should you do?  You can start by being proactive and contract with a fuel oil company that is also proactive.  Currently the first service provider on Martha’s Vineyard to offer the TankSure Program for oil tank & equipment inspection services is Island Energy, Inc (www.islandfuelinc.com).  Give them a call.  Jay McMann is the President and he can be reached at (508) 696-5959.

For more information, Mass.Gov has a great section under Energy and Environmental Affairs:  RemovingYour Underground Heating Oil Tank - A Homeowner's Guide

RADON ... It's a Gas!

It’s not as though we don’t already have enough to worry about with Global Warming, chemical and waste water contamination of our drinking water and all the other ecological mysteries that we think are threatening our demise. Do you remember when everyone was concerned about contracting cancer simply by sitting too close to an electric heater or using an electric blanket?  The big scare back in the 90’s was all about Electromagnetic Radiation or EMFs.  Even today there is no definitive answer to whether living next to a utility easement where there are high tension wires or step-up and step-down transformers within close proximity to a home will emit enough radiation to be harmful to your health. However, whether the danger is real or not the concern is there and it has stigmatized many properties perceived value.

Now there is RADON!

Once upon a time Radon was of no concern here on Martha’s Vineyard, but neither was smoking cigarettes. Some people still don’t care. The common belief was, it was only present in up-Island towns where the heaviest concentration of glacial rock existed. Today Radon is being found in every town on the Island and in some areas in quite high concentrations. 

Here is the point I want to make.
I think doing a Radon test should be the first thing any home buyer does before having a complete structural inspection performed. Repairing a fully depreciated roof or replacing a heating system is no big deal compared to finding Radon gas. Radon is a health hazard.

What is Radon?
It is a particulate gas that constantly emanates from disintegrating glacial rock formations or ledge rock, but there can be other sources. The EPA has set the ‘action’ level for Radon at 4 pCi/L (picocuries/liter). In Europe where they are less conservative the action level is 10 pCi/L.  To give this some perspective, since Radon is the #2 cause of lung cancer, the EPA guidelines state that a reading of 10-12 pCi/L is "equivalent to smoking one pack of cigarettes a day".  Am I getting your attention?

I have a section on my website http://www.splitrockre.com/environmental-radon.shtml explaining in more detail about Radon with links to resources. For further detail or if you want to schedule a consultation with a Radon Mitigation expert you can contact the company I use. http://www.blackdogin.com/

This is how the Structural Inspection process works.
As a buyer, before the Purchase and Sale Agreement is signed and you are in too deep, a Structural Inspection is performed.   The home inspector will usually recommend a Radon test as an ‘add-on’ or optional test. The test can be static or active and usually takes 24 hours and is best done in the colder months when a house is closed up.  The cost of the test is nominal, usually under $100.00 but it can run as high as $300.00. Compared to the cost of a complete structural inspection which usually averages $400.00 to $600.00 or even more depending on the size of the premises being inspected.  Finding a high level of Radon could possibly derail a home purchase more easily than most other findings in a Structural Inspection. 

Radon in the Water?
If it isn’t enough to find radon gas in the air, it can also be found in well water.  It is not as serious in well water but when it becomes airborne as spray that is when it can affect your health.  Well water systems can also be treated to neutralize the Radon by using high maintenance filtering systems.  If the initial Radon test shows high levels it is advisable to have a well water test done. Of course, if the property is on town water then you don’t have to worry.

My recommendation
Home buyers should investigate whether or not Radon is prevalent in the area they are thinking of purchasing a home.  Good sources for that information can be a structural inspector, an attorney or a well installer. As I said before, contract for a Radon test before having a full blown structural inspection performed.  If the levels are below the action level you are good to go. If the levels are within the margins, let’s say between 4 pCi/L and 12 pCi/L you can have a mitigation system installed for somewhere around $1500 to $3000.00 depending upon the complexity of the installation. If a mitigation system is installed and the after installation Radon levels are not well below 4pCi/L further ventilation work may need to be done.  Do a Radon test first and then you can worry about the rest. That is my advice.

Chit-Chatting Around the Water Cooler

Remember the home inspection story in my last blog about the home owner who lost his lawsuit because he did not speak up when he suspected a problem at the home inspection?  Well, here is another story that could have gone to court, and maybe should have.

I was in the grocery store grabbing some Chobani Greek yogurt at the dairy case when I bumped into my home inspector.  We were standing their chit chatting when we felt the heat from someone moving around us on the perimeter.   We stopped and acknowledged this person, who immediately queried, “Are you the building inspector” he said to my friend.  Okay, we knew what he meant and after making the proper introduction this person proceeded to tell the building inspector his tale.

Remember the home you inspected for me?  I knew right away this was not going to be a happy tale.  Although he did preface what was to follow by saying he loves the house (now) and is perfectly happy with it.  The fireplace chimney had cracks everywhere and it leaked like a sieve.  It had to be torn down and rebuilt to the tune of $25,000. 

I asked this person if he noticed the problem before he bought the house. “Nope”.  Did your buyer agent ask the seller or the seller agent if they knew anything that was or would be a problem? “Nope”.  Did your buyer agent notice anything or say anything? “Nope”.

The buyer actually defended his unfortunate circumstance by explaining to ME that  Massachusetts is a ‘Buyer Beware State' and that unlike his home state seller's in Massachusetts are not required to fill out a Seller’s Description of Property form, and then admitting that no one asked the appropriate questions. 

(Side note:  Sellers on the Cape do fill out Seller's Description of  Property forms) 

At that point my question should have been, if you are so darn happy after hiring someone you expected to represent your best interests, paying for a professional home inspection, and then after you closed on the home discovering a major defect that ended up costing you $25,000, but you are telling us you happy and in love with the house, why did you interrupt our conversation?  This poor guy might have had a case against the inspector or his agent, or the seller agent if he had been an informed buyer with competent assistance.  Granted, I don’t know all the facts but if it were me I sure would be pissed and looking to see if I had recourse.

As a disclosure, I will tell my clients that Home Inspector’s cannot see every single thing there is to see.  Some inspectors will issue the same disclosure as part of their contract. It is important to remember that real estate licensees are not home inspectors, builders or engineers. However, as with the mold and rot case I reported on, where there is smoke there is fire and in cases like the fractured chimney I would bet you there was a lot of smoke.  And besides, if a buyer has concerns they can always bring a contractor or engineer to review the report, do specialized testing and look at the house they are buying.  I always say, the more the merrier and the more eyes the better – except around the water cooler, or at the dairy case.

How Good Is A Home Inspection

I was reading a legal article in one of my trade publications recently discussing ‘Caveat Emptor’ which means Buyer Beware.  Massachusetts is a caveat emptor state.  So what does that mean to you the consumer? By definition it means "The seller of a product cannot be held responsible for its quality unless it is guaranteed in a warranty."

If you have read through the “Why You Need a Home Inspection” part on my website you know how bullish I am about home inspections as a result of a mishap I had in my personal home buying experience.  I always say that I would rather lose a sale because the house did not pass muster than have a client move into an unsound home and have a bad experience. 

However, even with the best home inspector, the one the seller agents call ‘the deal breaker’ the inspector cannot see or find every single chink in the structure’s armor.  He may discover evidence of a problem but how large or small that problem may be should then be determined by an expert in the specific area of the problem.  It will be up to you, the home buyer, to act upon the evidence in a timely manner and request further exploration in order to gather more information.

Discovering a serious problem later on may leave you no recourse with the seller.  The case study that I read started with evidence of ‘rot’ found during a home inspection. The inspector, who also happened to be an engineer, stated in his report that the rot did not pose a structural problem, so the buyer went ahead and bought the home without doing any further investigation or raising the issue with the seller. 

If I were there for that diagnosis I would have been thinking that the engineer said it did not pose a structural problem -- at the present time, or from what he could see.  Have you ever had rust rot on your automobile? What does it do -- it progresses and spreads.  I would have raised a red flag and suggested further investigation or at least the notion that there was possibly more there than meets the eye.

The reason why the seller should have been questioned about their knowledge of the problem is because:
1) We do not use “Seller’s Description of Property” forms so the seller has no opportunity or reason to provide specific information as to their knowledge of the condition of the property.
2) Only if a hidden structural defect that would affect the value or the desirability of the property is disclosed by the seller to the seller’s agent is that seller’s agent morally required to reveal that fact to a buyer. That is a governing rule for REALTORS®.
 Continuing on with what ended up being a law suit, the new owners of the house where the rot was discovered started noticing “a damp smell, the presence of potato bugs, and the ceiling tiles separating.”  The new owner had “the home re-inspected and this time the inspector found serious mold, rot and pest damage. The extent of the damage hadn’t been easily discovered the first time they had the house inspected, because new siding, trim and insulation had been installed”.

Here is where the story reaches its tipping point.  “With the new inspection report in hand, the couple determined with the help of a contractor that it would cost more to repair the property than to rebuild”.  Any of us would be fighting mad to get this kind of news. Right?  Of course, the logical next step would be to go to Court and that is exactly what these folks did.  “They sued charging the sellers with fraudulent concealment and negligent misrepresentation”.

Although the court found in their favor on the first go around, they lost an appeal because even though the court found in their favor based upon “egregious nondisclosure and concealment” by the sellers, the case was dismissed based upon Caveat Emptor.  In this case the buyer was made aware of a problem but did not follow up in a timely manner. 

I believe the most important part of a home purchase is doing your homework and that includes a thorough home inspection with solid answers for any questionable problems uncovered, speaking with town officials about the current and future neighborhood plans and even going so far as to interview the neighbors who would be more than happy to spill their guts with everything they know about your home owner, the neighbors next door or the overall community. It’s up to you to get out, walk the streets and knock on doors. Caveat Emptor.