Friday, July 12, 2013

Would you buy a house that had an oil spill at one time? (111 Words)

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?Post subject: Would you buy a house that had an oil spill at one time?


Joined: July 10th, 2013, 10:13 am
Posts: 3

A friend of mine had an oil spill on his property recently. A major clean up is underway to rid the property of the oil. He has been advised that the property has lost significant value because of the spill. It seems that people are turned off when they see "oil spill" on the paperwork if you are trying to sell your house. You always have to disclose that an oil spill happened on the property even though it's been cleaned up. My question is: would you shy away from a property that had an oil spill even though it was cleaned up years before? Thank you for any feedback.

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?Post subject: Re: Would you buy a house that had an oil spill at one time?


Joined: November 1st, 2003, 7:55 am
Posts: 16132
Location: In Your Mind

Quote:

Please excuse the typo in my name. I don't know how to fix it.

fixed

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?Post subject: Re: Would you buy a house that had an oil spill at one time?


Joined: July 10th, 2013, 10:13 am
Posts: 3

kreskin wrote:

Quote:

Please excuse the typo in my name. I don't know how to fix it.

fixed

Thank you! It was bothering me. :)

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?Post subject: Re: Would you buy a house that had an oil spill at one time?


Joined: October 20th, 2011, 12:15 pm
Posts: 965
If I was a buyer I'd do a lot of investigating first. I would want to know who did the work, who inspected the work and then look at other spills both companies/people did before. I would also want to know how much was spilled, where is was spilled at and why (in case its something that might re-occur). If all their work was done properly and I'm comfortable then I'd have no problem buying the house.

So my answer would be "Maybe".

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?Post subject: Re: Would you buy a house that had an oil spill at one time?


Joined: December 30th, 2008, 9:41 pm
Posts: 1202
Location: Queens County

Who told your friend that a properly cleaned spill would cause a significant drop in property value?

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?Post subject: Re: Would you buy a house that had an oil spill at one time?


Joined: April 12th, 2010, 7:29 am
Posts: 1878
There's a lot of paranoia these days about oil spills, largely due to our 'officials' over-reaction. They never miss an opportunity to 'officiate', insisting on digging up tons of earth and hauling it to another location, often bankrupting the unfortunate home owner.

In most cases the best solution would be to leave it alone and it'll be gone in a couple of years. There are naturally occurring bacteria that literally eat fuel oil products such as diesel and furnace oil. To speed up the process the area can be 'seeded' with more of these bacteria, in a process called bio-remediation.

http://ei.cornell.edu/biodeg/bioremed/

There can be problems in areas where shallow well pumps are used for water supply, and then of course, there's the smell.

Ed


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?Post subject: Re: Would you buy a house that had an oil spill at one time?


Joined: December 30th, 2008, 9:41 pm
Posts: 1202
Location: Queens County

To answer the question if the spill was properly remediated and the vendor had all supporting documentation it wouldn't scare me away.

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?Post subject: Re: Would you buy a house that had an oil spill at one time?


Joined: July 10th, 2013, 10:13 am
Posts: 3

arod wrote:

Who told your friend that a properly cleaned spill would cause a significant drop in property value?

I believe it was a realtor with many years of experience.

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?Post subject: Re: Would you buy a house that had an oil spill at one time?


Joined: December 30th, 2008, 9:41 pm
Posts: 1202
Location: Queens County
Honestly I would deal with another realtor.

There honestly isn't much, if any evidence out there to reach that conclusion. A properly cleaned spill where the site has been put back to the condition it was in pre-spill and that no odor anywhere on or in the property will have no impact on value. It may increase market time to find a buyer who isn't influenced by the stigma of the spill but it won't effect the value.

Any real estate agent worth their commission should be able to communicate this to buyers.

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?Post subject: Re: Would you buy a house that had an oil spill at one time?


Joined: July 25th, 2007, 5:10 am
Posts: 626
Location: Charlottetown

arod wrote:

Honestly I would deal with another realtor.

There honestly isn't much, if any evidence out there to reach that conclusion. A properly cleaned spill where the site has been put back to the condition it was in pre-spill and that no odor anywhere on or in the property will have no impact on value. It may increase market time to find a buyer who isn't influenced by the stigma of the spill but it won't effect the value.

Any real estate agent worth their commission should be able to communicate this to buyers.


I disagree. I would think that if a spill has to be disclosed to home buyers, then the vast majority of these buyers would say:
1. Hmmmm...should we take the risk? (whatever the risk may be)
2. Hey, now we have an extra bargaining tool!
I believe both of the above would drive the selling price of the house down considerably lower than it would be if there had not been a spill.
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?Post subject: Re: Would you buy a house that had an oil spill at one time?


Joined: May 4th, 2008, 2:13 am
Posts: 5711

Isn't it environment canada who does the testing and declares the soil clean, and indeed are they not the only one who can? Environment canada it would seem are the ones who can answer any questions regarding the property.


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?Post subject: Re: Would you buy a house that had an oil spill at one time?


Joined: December 30th, 2008, 9:41 pm
Posts: 1202
Location: Queens County

sawguy wrote:

arod wrote:

Honestly I would deal with another realtor.

There honestly isn't much, if any evidence out there to reach that conclusion. A properly cleaned spill where the site has been put back to the condition it was in pre-spill and that no odor anywhere on or in the property will have no impact on value. It may increase market time to find a buyer who isn't influenced by the stigma of the spill but it won't effect the value.

Any real estate agent worth their commission should be able to communicate this to buyers.


I disagree. I would think that if a spill has to be disclosed to home buyers, then the vast majority of these buyers would say:
1. Hmmmm...should we take the risk? (whatever the risk may be)
2. Hey, now we have an extra bargaining tool!
I believe both of the above would drive the selling price of the house down considerably lower than it would be if there had not been a spill.

Those are valid points and should be expected. There are a third category of buyers who after seeing clean soil tests and papers from the remediation company will not see it as a deterrent. It will take a bit longer to find that buyer but they are out there.

There is valuation methodology to create adjustments for properties with contaminated soil, but personally I have yet to see an analysis that shows there is an absolute connection between a properly cleaned spill and lowered property value.

An agent who is looking out for your interest should inform that there are those such as you listed before you will try to use the situation to bring down the price and to be firm with the price.

Of course an agent who is only after your commission and not looking out for your best interests will get you to accept whatever offer comes. Whether a house sells for 250 or 200 the impact on their commission isn't thaaaat significant if they can reduce the length of time they need to market the property.

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?Post subject: Re: Would you buy a house that had an oil spill at one time?


Joined: December 30th, 2008, 9:41 pm
Posts: 1202
Location: Queens County

betamaxman wrote:

Isn't it environment canada who does the testing and declares the soil clean, and indeed are they not the only one who can? Environment canada it would seem are the ones who can answer any questions regarding the property.

This is correct.

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?Post subject: Re: Would you buy a house that had an oil spill at one time?


Joined: May 4th, 2008, 2:13 am
Posts: 5711

I would think that if there were a connection between oil spills and low property values most of the homes in charlottetown should be devalued.


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?Post subject: Re: Would you buy a house that had an oil spill at one time?


Joined: December 30th, 2008, 9:41 pm
Posts: 1202
Location: Queens County

betamaxman wrote:

I would think that if there were a connection between oil spills and low property values most of the homes in charlottetown should be devalued.

If people only know how many properties have sold where the owners never disclosed a spill.

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?Post subject: Re: Would you buy a house that had an oil spill at one time?


Joined: November 14th, 2006, 10:17 am
Posts: 892
Location: Charlottetown

arod wrote:

betamaxman wrote:

Isn't it environment canada who does the testing and declares the soil clean, and indeed are they not the only one who can? Environment canada it would seem are the ones who can answer any questions regarding the property.

This is correct.


Incorrect. Enviro Canada is federal. The provincial dept of enviro is the authority that oversees cleanups. They ensure that cleanup meets the required criteria after which they issue a "closure letter" to the property owner. The property shouldn't decline in value if the remediation is done properly.
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?Post subject: Re: Would you buy a house that had an oil spill at one time?


Joined: September 6th, 2007, 9:19 pm
Posts: 1275
Location: Charlottetown P.E.I.

All you have to do is have the seller have a Phase one Environmental assessment done on the property. Any issues will show up and have to be looked after and assessed again before you buy the property..Once you get a clean bill of health then there should be no further issues.


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?Post subject: Re: Would you buy a house that had an oil spill at one time?


Joined: November 14th, 2006, 10:17 am
Posts: 892
Location: Charlottetown

I believe there are 3 or 4 phases. The phase used depends on the property location, surroundings etc.

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?Post subject: Re: Would you buy a house that had an oil spill at one time?


Joined: September 6th, 2007, 9:19 pm
Posts: 1275
Location: Charlottetown P.E.I.

Yes but I guess you'd want one that would be specifically for the oil spill on a residential property. you can get one of these done can't you?


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?Post subject: Re: Would you buy a house that had an oil spill at one time?


Joined: November 14th, 2006, 10:17 am
Posts: 892
Location: Charlottetown
I haven't heard of someone requesting a phase 1 on a property but I am always involved after a spill is discovered as opposed to trying to find out if there has been a spill on the property. The enviro consultant or dept of enviro field person assesses the site prior to the start of and during the remediation and determines which phase it fits under. The work to be done is carried out according to the phase guidelines.

I suppose it would make sense that a person could request an assessment or phase 1 on a property.

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