Contamination

[Rors1]

My partner and I have recently viewed a property which was contaminated as a consequence of a burst underground fuel tank in a nearby petrol filling station (the petrol leaked onto the subject lands). This incident happened approximately 3 years ago and the vendors are able to provide us with a validation report provided by a reputable firm of environmental consultants. Interestingly I noted that this validation report has only just been signed and when questioned the vendor advised that the remedial programme took almost 2.5 years. They had to vacate the property for 7 months during this time so it does appear that it was a fairly significant issue. We really like the house and are considering placing an offer on it. Are we mad? Should we steer clear? What would you do? Keen to hear your thoughts.

[brian]

I hope this is one heck of a property for you to still be interested!! Normally the first sign of potential complications is a good sign to steer clear.

[Rors1]

Hi Brian,

Would the validation report not give you confidence?

[Richard Webster]

I think I would be more concerned about the continued existence of the filling station in terms of noise and disturbance etc.

Rules are pretty strict these days so if an environmental consultant says it was all dealt with properly then I think most people would be happy with that.

[Rors1]

Thanks for your comments Richard. I think we are going to pass up on this one - not worth the hastle. Whilst there is a validation report, this has been provided by the same environmental consultant that oversaw the remediation works - not exactly independent. Therefore, my fear would be that some of the contaminant may not have been properly treated and could cause us issues in the future if we were to buy. I suppose it does highlight the proximity of the filling station as you rightly say and the other issues that this could cause. Would need to be getting it at a knock down price to make it in anyway a runner.......