Do you own a home that was built prior to 1965? If you do then your property may contain a buried (out of use) Oil Tank. Under the City of Vancouver By Laws, these buried tanks pose an environmental hazard and must be removed.

If you are planning to sell your home and you think there is a possibility of a buried tank, the plan of action should be as follows: 

1. Call an Oil Tank Removal company and have them inspect your property for a tank. There are several in the lower mainland that will come out on a day or twos notice. If you have no tank have the Oil Tank Company provide you with a letter confirming such. The cost for this is minimal. If a tank is located then you’ll need to gain a couple of estimates.
2. The tank removal can take place prior to listing your home for sale or after. The key thing to consider is that any tank removal must take place no less than 1 month prior to the closing of a sale. This is due to the time it will take for the oil tank company to deal with an Environmental Report if required. Also, banks funding a mortgage for a prospective buyer on your property will not fund a mortgage without all documentation being provided regarding the oil tank removal and the environment report.
3. I have come across many home owners who have told me they know nothing about an oil tank on their property only to find one after a site scan is conducted. In order to assist the selling process its best to have the site scan done so that a letter can be provided to a prospective buyer’s before they make an offer. This scan should be done prior to the home being listed for sale.

If you have any questions and or need a list of recommended Oil Tank specialists we are pleased to provide.

Happy Selling!

Photo: currenenvironmental.com

VANCOUVER, B.C. – November 4, 2014 – Home sales in the Metro Vancouver* housing market continue to outpace long-term averages for this time of year.

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential property sales in Greater Vancouver reached 3,057 on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in October 2014. This represents a 14.9 percent increase compared to the 2,661 sales in October 2013, and a 4.6 percent increase over the 2,922 sales in September 2014.

Last month’s sales were 16.6 percent above the 10-year sales average for October.

“We’ve seen strong and consistent demand from home buyers in Metro Vancouver throughout this year. This has led to steady increases in home prices of between four and eight percent depending on the property,” said REBGV president Ray Harris.

New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties in Metro Vancouver totalled 4,487 in October. This represents a four percent increase compared to the 4,315 new listings in October 2013 and a 14.7 percent decline from the 5,259 new listings in September.

The total number of properties currently listed for sale on the MLS® system in Metro Vancouver is 13,851, a 9.2 percent decline compared to October 2013 and a 6.6 percent decrease compared to September 2014.

The MLS® Home Price Index composite benchmark price for all residential properties in Metro Vancouver is currently $637,000. This represents a six percent increase compared to October 2013.

“Detached homes continue to increase in price more than condominium and townhome properties. This is largely a function of supply and demand as the supply of condominium and townhome properties are more abundant than detached homes in our region,” Harris said.

Sales of detached properties in October 2014 reached 1,271, an increase of 19.1 percent from the 1,067 detached sales recorded in October 2013, and a 60.9 percent increase from the 790 units sold in October 2012. The benchmark price for detached properties increased 7.9 percent from October 2013 to $995,100.

Sales of apartment properties reached 1,268 in October 2014, an increase of 15.5 percent compared to the 1,098 sales in October 2013, and a 57.9 percent increase compared to the 803 sales in October 2012. The benchmark price of an apartment property increased four percent from October 2013 to $380,200.

Attached property sales in October 2014 totalled 518, a 4.4 percent increase compared to the 496 sales in October 2013, and an 53.3 percent increase over the 338 attached properties sold in October 2012. The benchmark price of an attached unit increased 4.7 percent between October 2013 and 2014 to $479,500.

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