Why a Pre-Purchase Inspection Is Essential
In Austin and across the Northeast, a significant proportion of homes built before 1975 have — or had — an underground heating oil tank. Many of these tanks were never properly decommissioned when the home switched to gas heat. They sit in the ground, slowly corroding, invisible to the naked eye.
If you purchase a home without investigating the tank, you inherit the liability. Under TX law, the current property owner is responsible for cleanup costs — regardless of when the leak occurred or who installed the tank. A pre-purchase inspection is the only way to know what you are buying.
What Our Pre-Purchase Inspection Covers
The Oil Tank Removal Austin, TX pre-purchase inspection is designed to give you a complete picture of the tank's status before you commit to the purchase:
- Visual assessment: We identify any above-ground evidence of a tank — fill pipes, vent pipes, disconnected oil lines, and basement indicators.
- GPR / magnetometer sweep: We use ground-penetrating radar and a magnetometer to locate the tank precisely, estimate its size and depth, and identify any additional buried infrastructure.
- Soil screening: We screen the soil around the tank perimeter using a photoionization detector (PID) for volatile organic compounds. This provides an immediate indication of whether a leak has occurred.
- Written report: We provide a detailed written report within 24 hours, suitable for your mortgage lender, attorney, and title company.
Using the Inspection to Negotiate
The inspection report gives you leverage. If the tank is clean, you can proceed with confidence — or negotiate removal as a condition of the sale to eliminate the future liability. If contamination is found, you have documented evidence to support a price reduction or a remediation contingency. Either way, you are in a much stronger position than if you had closed without investigating.
Call Oil Tank Removal Austin, TX at (737) 306-1363 to schedule a pre-purchase inspection in Austin. We typically schedule within 24–48 hours.