TL;DR: We bought a home in the suburbs of NYC in 2022 and hired U.S. Tank Tech to inspect the underground oil tank before purchasing. They issued a “PASS” report. In 2023, during a renovation, we removed the tank and found it had over 45 holes and had been leaking for nearly 20 years. The contamination spread beneath the driveway, walkway, and front yard. We are on a private well and now require ongoing water testing. We’ve spent $80k+ out of pocket to date, with more expenses expected. The testing company disclaims liability, and their insurer, Chubb, denied the claim. My broker recommended U.S. Tank Tech, and I was not present for the inspection. I’ve filed formal complaints with DFS, DEC, and the BBB, and I’ve now retained an attorney and am preparing to file a lawsuit. I’m asking this community what to do next from a real estate perspective, since this damage is already done.

Photos of the remediation and tank: https://imgur.com/a/wo6118L

FULL STORY: In 2022, my family and I bought a home in Westchester County, NY. As part of our due diligence, we hired a professional tank testing company, U.S. Tank Tech, to inspect the underground oil tank. They issued a written “PASS” report. Based on that result, and our trust in the process, we moved forward with the purchase.

In 2023, during a renovation, we removed the tank and discovered the tank had over 45 holes and had been leaking oil into the soil for approximately 19–20 years, confirmed by a soil age dating test. The contamination had spread underneath our front walkway, driveway, and much of the surrounding landscape.

We had to remove the tank, install a new one (required by our tank insurance before remediation could begin), remediate the soil, and fully rebuild the affected area, including the driveway, steps, lawn, and landscaping. We’re on a private well, so we now conduct ongoing groundwater testing (about $1,300/year) to ensure safety. Additionally, under New York’s 2023 disclosure law, we’re now legally required to disclose this environmental issue when we sell the home, which carries a likely long-term property value hit.

Photos of the remediation and tank: https://imgur.com/a/wo6118L

What’s more: I wasn’t present when the tank test was done. I relied entirely on the result, which came through my broker, who also recommended U.S. Tank Tech. This raises a serious concern: what actually happens at these inspections when neither the buyer nor seller is there? Who’s really overseeing the process, and how thorough is the work being done when no one is watching?

When I submitted a fully documented claim to U.S. Tank Tech’s insurer, Chubb (Westchester Surplus Lines Insurance Co.), the initial response was silence, then delay, and finally a flat denial. Their stated reason:

“The test followed protocol. No evidence of negligence.”

At one point, they floated the idea that “clay in the soil may have interfered with the test,” but they never provided any supporting documentation despite multiple requests.

I’ve filed formal complaints with the New York Department of Financial Services (DFS), the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), and the Better Business Bureau (BBB). I’ve also now retained an attorney and am preparing to file a legal claim.

Here’s where I’d really value this community’s insight.

I know what should’ve happened before closing, more aggressive testing, seller removal, stricter contingencies. But I can’t go back. So my question is: What do real estate professionals or attorneys suggest I do now?

Should I pursue the seller under NY environmental liability laws?

Can the tank testing company be held liable for a clearly inaccurate result?

Is there recourse against a broker who recommended that vendor?

How do I protect resale value with an environmental record on file?

What’s the smartest path forward from here?

I am just trying to recover real losses from a failure that no buyer could have seen coming. If this post helps one other buyer avoid what we’ve gone through, it will have been worth it.

Thanks for reading…and any advice or perspective is welcome.

My neighbor told me that they are selling their house in second week of May, the same time we planned to sell ours. We’re relocating out of state in June. Idk what will be the effect on us (selling price, purchase appraisal, etc)

Both houses are bilevel and built in 1970s. Their house is bigger by 150 sq ft and has 5Br2Ba, and our is just 4Br2ba, though their house is dated, ours was fully rehabbed in 2021. They will be using an agent, and we will do FSBO+MLS+RE Atty (we are offering 2.5% Buyer agent’s commission). Our home was appraised in Feb for $275k, current comps is $281k, we will be selling at $280k (only because we bought new appliances worth 5k)

I would like to ask your opinion if we have to sell our home before or after them or just stick to the same plan. Or are there any strategies I need to do, if you’re in my situation. Thank you!

My aunt is 97 years old and has her house is in reverse mortgage. We have talked with her and would like to buy her house and let her live there for the remainder of her life.

Can anyone explain the steps ? How would we find out how much she owes the reverse mortgage people ? Do the reverse mortgage people own her house ? Do we have the opportunity to buy back the house at this point?

My inspections showed three offsets in the sewer line. Seller and I agreed they would fix the offsets shown in the report. On Friday during the final walk through, I noted that there was no sign of digging where the offsets were. When we contacted the selling agent she provided an invoice from a third party plumbing company saying everything was fine.

After reviewing the sewer line, we found no offsets or separations in the inspected portion of the sewer line that would require any type of remediation per the provided Home Inspection Report. The “offsets” noted in the report are two pipes joined together using a “Mission band” or CT adapter (rubber boot) and is at industry standards.

Here's the relevant image from the report

This feels like a difference in interpretation between the two companies. But the fact is they agreed to fix the offsets and never communicated anything until we asked. All other repairs were done as asked.

My question is, do I go forward with closing? I feel burned and annoyed by the timing and the seller not mentioning anything about the update to their plans. I am in no hurry to move, I have a month-to-month for a very nice place owned by a family friend.

In my mind there's two options. First, insist on the repairs. Second ask for a discount.

Got extremely weird vibes from this real estate agent. I set up a tour on Zillow, had to input my phone number. Pretty soon my phone is blowing up, 2 to 3 texts in a row, and calling me at work without my permission. Not only that, but the texts contained pink heart emojis and the word "y'all."

I might sound uptight, but is that how business professionals text now? I mean come on, heart emojis? She and I are complete strangers, and that's how she talks in a business text.

She's in charge of selling 2 other houses in the area that I want to tour. In order for us to tour, she said I had to sign an agreement that basically said she would represent us throughout the entire buying process. I don't want that, but she said it was legally required.

I'm very interested in 2 houses, but I don't want to talk to this woman again. Is this normal? Do I actually have to sign something before I can even tour? Is there any way I can get around her and still tour these houses? I know what agency she works for.

Thank you everyone!

Our lender said that the Frannie Mae condo questionnaire revealed that our HOA doesn't have enough money in reserves to meet Fannie Mae's standards. Should we be worried about it?

We have a work around. If we double our down payment, they do a less in-depth questionnaire that doesn't look at that part of the budget. Then, we will get the greenlight from Fannie Mae and our lender and they will loan to us.

That said, I'm scared to move forward. Is this standard in place for a good reason that we should be concerned about?

For context: The monthly HOA fee is pretty steep for our area, $409 a month. It includes all utilities except electric. It also included a pool and gym. Our unit does not have its own in-unit washer or dryer. Nor does it have its own water heater. The building shares one.

I've toured the condo a few times and the building is clean, pretty, and in good shape. The grounds are well taken care of. It's a really nice complex and we are pretty sure the only reason it is in our budget is because the laundry isn't in-unit. We spoke with a few of the current residences and they are seemed really nice and had really good things to say about living there.

The building is fairly "new" because there was a fire a couple of years ago. The man we hired for our home inspection was actually apart of the rebuild and told us all about it. The floors, walls, and appliances are all new. There are new extra-fancy fire alarms as well as sprinklers installed in all of the condos now.

I do not know what caused the fire.

Edit: we are first time homebuyers

Background - we are in escrow to sell our house because it’s 3 stories and 2 years ago I was diagnosed with MS and have been struggling with the stairs. We are looking for a single story home. We live in one of the most expensive places in the US. Average DTI mortgage approval is 50 of income vs the average 25-30%. We’ve been looking in the 2-2.5 million range.

Offer - We are friends with an older couple who have been trying to sell their absolutely beautiful home in the most desirable neighborhood in our town. Think - hear the ocean from every room in the house, fall asleep with the ocean breeze. 😭It’s been overpriced since it hit the market 9 months ago. Well, they got a spot in the retirement community they wanted and NEED to sell ASAP to make the move. Last night they invited us over and offered the following: They drop the price almost a million dollars if we will buy. They know we cannot afford their home, especially at current rates. They offered that we sign an agreement of sale (with lawyers involved) and for up to 5 years we’d be paying 4% interest on 2.3 million (so interest only - about $7600/mo) to later refinance if/when rates go down - if we pay $725,000 upfront. It’s an insanely generous offer. We are overwhelmed by their kindness but also - overwhelmed about the financial side of it.

We are getting about $425,000 from the sale of our home. I have no idea where I’d come up with another $300,000. On top of that, we plan to use a VA loan to finance our purchase so in 5 years we’d need to bring another $275,000 to the closing table to secure that loan. ($2.3m - $1.2m va loan max x 0.25 = $275,000) We have retirement savings but we are in our 40’s and our kids are about to go to college. It’s absolutely terrifying to consider pulling a bulk of our retirement savings out (at a huge loss due to the market and penalties) to make this work.
At the same time - it’s an amazing offer we will never get again. What would you do?? Saving the $275,000 over the next 5 years is manageable but I’m really stuck on the extra $300,000 we’d need right now. (If it matters, we don’t necessarily need the retirement savings for retirement - husband has military retirement and an amazing pension from his civilian job so we may not need it but planned to have it for emergencies and to give to our kids.)

Sorry it’s so long and absolutely nuts!

Should buyer always have seller remove underground oil tank? Or is a pressure test the common approach?

So my wife and I are looking at purchasing our final home, a home that will be a "legacy property" for my kids and grand children. Multiple acres etc. We are just looking for some recommendations from others. Property is $200k. We have about $175k in cash, is there a down payment limit where banks don't want to work with you because of too small of an investment to work with? Meaning if i put down $150k and mortgaged $50k (giving me up to $25k for closing costs and some minor upgrades) are banks generally willing to bite at that?

We are in process of buying one home and selling another. Due to the timing of closings we set a lease back agreement with our buyer.

Our original lease back agreement had an end date of 4/9. Couldn’t get our agent to advise what TIME OF DAY the agreement ends but since our movers time frame worked to be out 4/8 it wasn’t something I kept asking about.

Due to a paperwork issue on the buyers side we may not be able to close as scheduled. So we moved the end date to 4/10. Because of this I might have to reschedule the movers but I’m not going to know for sure until Monday 4/7 if we will have a 4/7 closing as originally scheduled but later in the day (no need to reschedule movers) or at 4/8 (which will need to schedule the movers.

I keep asking my agent legally if a specific time isn’t listed in the contract how long do we have. I keep getting “ASAP” or “well they’re buyers wanna move in to their house as soon as possible” or “well they’re asking by noon”

Does anyone know the actual time leasebacks expire on the day listed/ if we aren’t out by what time will we incur a fee?

Location is Dallas/Fort Worth Texas

Also AITA for getting frustrated my agent about this? I haven’t told her I’m getting frustrated and I had my husband take over communication because I’m not trying to come off rude or anything. But it’s like you’re our agent so why does it feel like you’re really pulling for the buyers interest on this??

Hi all,

We’re selling our house in Lynnwood, WA, north of Seattle. We think it will go for about 600k but it’s tricky since there’s basically nothing on the market under $700k. It’s 3 bed, one bath, single family home, but surrounded by apartments and light industrial.

Our realtor agrees that 600k is her best guess but it seems like no one really knows. Anyone have a similar situation? Also, if we get multiple offers, how does that work? Do you just counter off to everyone and start a bidding war?

We are looking to buy a new home in an area further away and then list our current home once we move into the new one.

How (can) we get pre-approved for a new home while still paying a mortgage on this one? Does our DTI need to accommodate two mortgage payments if we have money set aside to pay double mortgages for a few months? We have newborn triplets plus a toddler so moving things into storage/renting short term isn’t a feasible or great option.

We have the cash for a down payment and closing costs on the new home, so we don’t need our current equity to purchase. Our current home is also in a hot area and houses sell pretty quickly (the current economic climate may change that but who knows).

I know the short answer is to talk to a broker, which I plan on doing this week, but trying to prepare a little ahead of time on what to expect.

House has oil heat. Tank is in basement. How do I monitor it?

What exactly happens if it suddenly bursts and dumps 275 gallons into the basement?

I’m pre approved with the condition of graduation the police academy in Chicago. Which will be some time in June. The city is giving me 17k to use and I have 20k of my own. With the current market should I jump on it. I always hear just wait interest rates will go down or market will crash. I feel ready now is it smart to do so ?

Hi all,

I purchased a multi-family property last October using an FHA loan, and I’ve been living in one of the units as my primary residence ever since—about 6 months now. Everything has been going relatively well, but I’ve run into a situation I wasn’t expecting and could use some guidance.

We have a dog who typically only barks when another dog walks by the property. However, last month we had a near-incident with one of our tenant’s dogs. Thankfully no one was hurt, but it stressed everyone out and raised some real concerns about safety and liability—especially since we all live on the same property. We’ve since worked with a professional dog trainer, but the tension remains, and I’m worried about future issues.

After reading FHA guidelines, it seems the owner-occupancy requirement is based on your intent to occupy the property for at least 12 months. We absolutely did intend to stay here for at least a year when we bought the property and moved in—but this situation has become difficult and wasn’t something we anticipated.

So my question is: Would something like this—a potentially unsafe living environment and a breakdown in the relationship with tenants—be considered an “unforeseen circumstance” if we decided we needed to move out before the 12 months?

Has anyone dealt with something similar or have insight into how flexible FHA is on this kind of situation? Appreciate any advice or perspective—thanks in advance!

Elderly relative bought an empty lot in upstate NY (near-ish Buffalo), it’s smallish, but it was inexpensive and I guess they want to retire in it. It’s zoned residential, got homes on either side with city utilities.

Aside from just searching online for a local home builder, are there any important things to know about getting it built on? Questions to ask when talking to builders, things I should look up or know ahead of time?

I keep seeing new construction home inspection videos and the houses are riddled with shoddy workmanship. Do construction companies six all these things? Many of them seem structural and big deals. If they don’t fix it, does someone buy the home with defects?

https://x.com/financedystop/status/1908349372041228298?s=46

My agent is asking me to make up 1-1.5% up by paying him ourselves. Buyer agent got them down to a quite decent price but we only saw two homes together before we moved forward on this one.

One bathroom (of 3) was never permitted. Still a pretty solid deal.

Please supply ideas. Thoughts are very welcomed!

OTHER TERMS: Property is being sold AS-IS. Seller will not make any repairs or provide any credits to the buyer. The seller will pay the buyer's agent a 1% commission. Esrow to close 45 days after acceptance of the offer. The buyer should be aware that the bathroom attached to the guest bedroom is not permitted. [] The buyer and buyer's agent are advised to independently verify the accuracy of all information, including permits, zoning, and square footage, through personal inspection and consultation with appropriate professional. The seller selects all services.

So, I have already looked at past posts about this and seen where a majority of people say that it’s a bad idea. However, I do want to explain my situation and see if it changes anything.

I have a group of myself and 3 others (we are all 23 years old) that all currently live with our parents, graduated college last year, have saved up a good amount of money, and are ready to move out soon. We all have full time, salary jobs solidified in the same city. None of us have any plans on moving away. I have been very close friends with 2 of them for about 12-13 years and the other for about 8-9 years. We have pretty much not gone a day without talking to each other since freshman year of high school, and in my case, I am closer to any of them than I am with my own brother, and I think the same can be said about them too.

We live in a city where renting a house is practically not an option. There are plenty of houses for sale, but the rental market is terrible. Anything affordable is in the middle of a dangerous area, and anything that isn’t in a bad area is horribly out of our price range. Apartments are about the same way. However, there are plenty of houses that find a nice middle ground, and this is all a big reason as to why we’re looking to split a house mortgage rather than rent.

Another reason we are looking to do this is the hope that this will end up being something we can all make money on in the future, whether that be from selling the house as a whole or keeping it and renting it out. We are very aware of the possibilities of someone needing to leave before that happens though, whether that be finding a significant other or finding a new job in a different city. We have a plan in place where either the person moving out can keep paying the mortgage and find someone else (who will have to okay’ed by the others) to move in, or someone else will buy them out. 3/4 of us will almost definitely have the money to buy someone out at any point. As of right now, 3/4 of us would have the money to do so immediately (which isn’t going to happen, but in theory we could). We are all 100% okay with buying someone out in this scenario.

All in all, the theory is that even if someone gets bought out, they’d be saving money in the end because they would’ve been living for at least a couple hundred dollars cheaper every month than they would’ve been anywhere else. They may not get a big payday in the end, but they would have saved money along the way. In context, the house we’re looking at would end up having a mortgage of only about $400-450 per month split 4 ways. There are simply no rental places in our city that are that low in price and are actually somewhere you’d want to live.

The last thing we’ve talked about are repairs, and we’d split those evenly unless someone was clearly at fault and broke something, then they’d pay for it.

All in all, let me know if and why this is a bad idea. Let me know if there’s anything I didn’t think of. If you actually took time to read all of this, thanks.

My family owns a property in a major east coast city — a 1 bdrm apartment is a very desirable neighborhood. The rental income used to support my grandmother to supplement her SS. She died and my aunt has managed the rental property ever since.

The property is held in an irrevocable trust. My aunt is a trustee and there is some paperwork that indicates my mom is also a co-trustee, but we have pretty limited information and she doesn’t recall if she signed anything. There are two generations of beneficiaries—9 total including my aunt.

The beneficiaries are split on how to proceed. In the last 7 years there have only been two distributions- one for $1,100 that all beneficiaries got, and one to buy out one beneficiary. A total of about $35k has been distributed in 7 years.

Some want to continue renting with a max annual net profit of about $20k and other want to sell - a local realtor thinks it could sell for $625-$675k.

Those who want to keep it are proposing to do some kind of investing with the net profit, though it would be at least 5 years before there was enough to invest in any new real estate. I’m not aware of any way that the trust can take a mortgage to leverage the equity—it’s owned free and clear.

There also doesn’t seem to be any way to buy out those who want to sell. Using the rental profit to buy out beneficiaries would take 20 years. If the trust sold it to those who wanted to keep it and they took a mortgage, they wouldn’t have enough cash flow to pay the mortgage in addition to current expenses.

We’re at an impasse. WWYD? I’m in the sell camp. It just doesn’t seem like a profitable venture, let alone split nine ways but I can’t seem to convince my aunt.

Looking at a roughly 11 acre plot of flat land within about 4 miles of a river. All nearby land is flat. Front to back, goes from submerged wetland with very healthy trees to railroad track that is adjacent on the rear. Selling agent says you can disturb up to 1 acre of wetland without a permit. Unsure of the veracity of that statement, but have looked into the "Waters of the United States" regulations that cover this situation, and understand that a permit could be obtained, perhaps with some difficulty.

Wetland is not part of a larger network of wetlands. There are a few spots (one or two acres) nearby, but there is productive farmland immediately adjacent to this property of probably around 30 acres. It's actually somewhat of a smallish puddle of probably semi-permanent standing water -- not a river delta region or anything like that.

The wet area might make a nice buffer between the road and the buildable rear of the property. Not planning on making it a primary residence. What are everyone's thoughts? I'm guessing mosquitoes are a likely issue. Another issue would be actually obtaining a permit to build a driveway across that wet part to the back of the property that is buildable. I actually like the fact that there is some water, because none of the land our family has ever owned has ever had any water on it. This speaks volumes about the water table and being able to irrigate, possibly dig a well (assuming there are no toxins).

Does anyone have any advice? Is it possible to assess the land for a well if you want to dig one? Can you obtain a permit to build a driveway across the wetland using minimally invasive techniques? Would this be a good place to have a covered shed with a little camper trailer on it? Possibly a small farm?

I received a letter from a real estate agent saying a developer is interested in buying the property I live at. I wanted to sell in a few years but I will take an opportunity now if the price is right. Is there anything I should know? How can I reach out to the realtor in order the get the best offer possible?

We are under contract with a bank owned property. The initial contract is quite egregious putting most of the risk on us. However, we had our inspection this past week and found some pretty large ticket items like mold, water in basement and a non working furnace. Now, we can back out for structural and environmental but my husband and I really like this house. What are the chances the bank will negotiate? Anybody have a similar story? Additionally we didn't get it for cheap. The house was listed for 610k and we offered 590 and they accepted it. Like I said I don't want to back out I'm just hoping that you will give us a credit so we can fix everything. This market is just insane. Forgot to mention the house as been vacant for 5yrs..

We came across an old house, and LA informed us that most of the bedrooms are unpermitted additions, built by the seller in the 1960s. The original bedrooms were either turned into a sitting room or merged with the added bedrooms to create larger spaces.

Could this lead to potential issues if we decide to purchase the home? Or should we avoid such homes in general? We are concerned about legalization possibility or future resales.