Selling Your Oil Heated Home

Have you been told you need to convert your home to natural gas in order to sell it? If you have, you're working with the wrong realtor. Selling your oil heated home is just like selling any other. Your buyer will have questions and you just need to provide the answers.

Start with the most important independent verification: The Consumer Energy Council of America, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the best interest of consumers, has concluded that it is financially unwise for consumers to convert from oil to gas heat. That means staying with oil heat saves you and your buyer money!

Your local oil heat dealer can direct you to a real estate agent who knows this fact and is well versed in answering questions about the cost and comfort benefits of oil heat. Conversion is an extremely expensive process. As a homeowner you have many options for addressing a buyer's concerns. For example, if an underground tank is an issue, you can easily upgrade to a top of the line above ground tank for a fraction of the cost.

Don't be fooled into spending thousands of unnecessary dollars. Know the facts:
Fact:		You do NOT need to convert to natural gas when you sell your home.
Fact:		You do NOT need to decommission your oil tank when you sell your home.
Fact:		Soil samples are NOT required by law to sell your home.
Fact:		Soil samples or tank testing are only required when an underground tank is suspected of leaking, or if oil is known to have leaked into the ground.
Fact:		Most companies that do soil samples have a vested interest in finding a problem because they make their money on the clean up. If a buyer or lender ask you to take a soil sample, contact your oil heat dealer first. They will provide the name of a trusted tester.
Fact:		You may purchase a transferable tank service contract to give to your buyer.
Fact:		In Oregon, the average cost of clean up from a heating oil storage tank leak was under $5,000, which coincidentally is the reimbursement value of the service contract offered by oil heat dealers. That means, if you have a tank service contract and a leak is discovered your costs would be fully covered.
Fact:		If you stop using an underground tank, it must be emptied but decommissioning is voluntary.