Once upon a time, burying the tanks that held home heating oil was a standard practice. Nowadays we put them in the basement. Mortgage companies don’t like there to be in-ground tanks at the homes they lend on because they worry about an unbounded environment liability. If there turns out to be a problem with the buried tank, then the owner has to deal with it. And if the owner walks away from the home, then it becomes the bank’s problem.
As a home buyer you want to be on the lookout for signs of an in-ground tank. There are two main clues to look for. First is a fill pipe and/or a vent pipe sticking out of the ground. Alternatively, you may see a pair of thin tubes coming in through the basement foundation towards the furnace. Finding either one does not prove a tank is down there, but it lets you know you need to do some more investigating.
