Wow. Your situation is concerning. The first thing you should do is speak with your attorney who handled your side of the transaction. Legal advice is what you really need at this point. The seller is obligated to inform you of an oil tank on the property. Certainly this question must have come up somewhere during the transaction, either between the agents or attorneys or the seller and their attorney and your attorney might have asked you about an oil tank. Did you have an engineer inspect the property before you signed contracts? Are there any notes in the engineering report about this? Did you question the previous owner about the basement debris and what was under it?
The rules about oil tanks are pretty clear, it is the homeowner's responsibility to take care of it.
Best of luck. I hope it works out for you. - Mon Aug 4 2008, 16:03