If you’re thinking about selling your property and happen to have an underground storage tank (UST) on it, you might be wondering, “Is this something I need to deal with before I list my land?” At CRG Texas Environmental, we’ve worked with countless property owners who found themselves in that exact situation, and we’re here to say – yes, it’s worth addressing. Removing your UST could be the secret to selling your property faster, at a better price, and without any headaches down the line.
Let’s dig into why UST removal is so important and how it can help you close a deal quicker.
The Problem with USTs: Why Buyers Get Nervous
When it comes to selling property, one thing’s for sure: buyers are cautious. If your land has a UST on it, particularly one that’s no longer in use, potential buyers might see a red flag. Even if the tank has been sitting dormant for years, buyers worry about things like leaks or contamination.
Imagine this scenario: You’ve got an interested buyer, but as soon as they find out there’s an old UST buried on the property, they start questioning whether it’s worth the risk. They might worry about hidden costs for removing the tank or cleaning up contamination. And in some cases, they’ll simply walk away from the deal.
We’ve seen this happen more times than we can count. But here’s the good news: removing that UST ahead of time puts you in a much stronger selling position.
How UST Removal Can Boost Your Property’s Value
The value of your property is often tied to its “clean slate” status. When a UST is sitting underground, there’s always that lingering question of what’s happening beneath the surface. Has it leaked? Could it cause issues down the road? These uncertainties can scare off buyers or lead to lower offers.
One client we worked with in Pleasanton, Texas, had a property they wanted to sell. The land was great, but they had an old UST system from a former fueling operation. Buyers loved the location but weren’t willing to pay what the owner was hoping for because of the potential risks. After we removed the tanks and confirmed the property was free of contamination, the owner was able to sell it for its full market value.
Removing USTs can give you the confidence to ask for the true value of your land without any strings attached. After all, buyers love properties that are ready to go – clean, compliant, and hassle-free.
Staying Compliant with Environmental Regulations
Now, we can’t talk about UST removal without touching on environmental regulations. This is Texas, and we take environmental protection seriously. If your UST isn’t properly decommissioned and removed, you could be facing some serious penalties – not to mention cleanup costs if there’s contamination.
At CRG Texas Environmental, we know that staying compliant is key. That’s why we follow a strict process when it comes to UST removal:
- Initial Assessment: We inspect the tank and the surrounding area to identify any potential issues.
- Tank Removal: We remove the dispensers, drain the fuel lines, and then carefully clean, degas, and remove the tank itself.
- Post-Removal Testing: This is where the real peace of mind comes in. We take soil and groundwater samples and send them off for lab analysis. This step ensures there’s no lingering contamination that could come back to haunt you or the buyer later.
Once the tanks are gone and the site is deemed clean, you can confidently tell potential buyers that the property is environmentally compliant. This alone can speed up the closing process, as buyers won’t have to worry about any hidden environmental issues.
How UST Removal Can Help You Sell Faster
We’ve worked with many property owners who thought leaving a UST in place wouldn’t be a big deal – until it was. Take, for example, a commercial property owner in Southeast Texas. They had a buyer lined up, but during due diligence, the UST became a sticking point. The buyer demanded that the tank be removed before they would move forward. This caused weeks of delays and nearly killed the deal.
Had the owner been proactive and removed the UST before putting the property on the market, the sale could have gone through much faster. In the end, the UST was removed, and the deal closed, but it was a stressful experience for everyone involved.
When you remove USTs before listing your property, you eliminate a major hurdle. Buyers appreciate the transparency, and with the tank gone, there’s nothing standing in the way of a smooth transaction.
Our UST Removal Process: What to Expect
If you’re wondering what the actual removal process looks like, don’t worry – we’ve got it down to a science at CRG Texas Environmental. Here’s what we do:
- Dispenser and Line Removal: We start by removing any dispensers and draining the fuel lines to make sure everything is safe and contained.
- Expose and Clean Out the Tanks: Once we’ve safely exposed the tanks, we clean them out and degas them to eliminate any potential hazards.
- Tank Removal: After the tanks are cleaned and prepped, we carefully remove them from the ground.
- Recycling: The tanks and any recyclable metal materials are taken to a scrap yard for responsible recycling.
- Soil and Groundwater Testing: Finally, we take samples to confirm there’s no contamination.
This process not only ensures your property is environmentally sound, but it also allows you to provide buyers with concrete proof that the USTs are gone and the land is ready for development or sale. Check out our Petroleum Storage Tank Services page for more info on this.
Conclusion: Removing USTs is a Smart Investment
At the end of the day, removing a UST from your property is an investment in your sale. It clears up environmental concerns, boosts your property’s value, and makes the sale process smoother and faster. Plus, with CRG Texas Environmental handling the removal, you can rest easy knowing everything is done by the book, from compliance to clean-up.
So, if you’re ready to make your property more appealing to buyers and close that deal, reach out to us at for a free quote. We’ve got the experience, the tools, and the know-how to make UST removal quick and painless.