Selling off unused heating oil

pritchah

We are on heating oil and have the best part of a tankful (about 1000 l, worth around £500)

We are now moving house to a property which is on the gas grid - and I'm looking at this unwanted oil with our estimated moving date at the end of October

I'm working my way through the selling questionnaires and I see there is a question about oil and whether it's included in the house price

My inclination is to say no, and offer it to the buyers at a discount. But what if they say they don't want it? Unlikely I suspect as they'll have to have it if they want the house warm over the winter

Just in case, is there any alternative? Would appreciate comments

And to anticipate - yes, I know I should have planned better, but I never thought we'd sell

We also have a stack of seasoned, homegrown logs, which is the same story

Hoenir

pritchah said:

My inclination is to say no, and offer it to the buyers at a discount. But what if they say they don't want it? 

Then consume it yourselves. 

sammyjammy

Given you will use some of that before you move out I would be inclined to say its included.  

lohr500

If, like us, you only use the oil boiler in the summer for hot water, then depending on consumption you will probably be using less than 2 litres of oil per day.

Call it around 90 days x 2 litres = 180 litres to be used between now and your moving date.

If we hit a cold spell though in September or October, you could well use more.

The logistics of taking it with you if the buyer plays hardball will probably cost more than the oil is worth.

On that basis I would be tempted to include the oil in the sale as a gesture of goodwill to the buyer.
But I would advertise the logs locally and see if you get any takers. Easier to transport and if you price below market rate, I'm sure someone would buy them.

Reed_Richards

What happened when you bought the house?  Was the oil in the tank included then?

Flugelhorn

I think most people just leave the oil in the tank and include it in the sale - it is a small amount in the overall cost of the house move.

decades ago though I included the oil in a sale, contracts had exchanged etc - then out of the blue the local company who we used to use to get oil stuck 800 litres in the tank.   

We used to pay them so much a month and they would top it up when needed ..., however we had ended this contract so time before  and only paid / filled when we decided we wanted some more oil.

Comment from the company re the bill was "well you'll need the oil anyway ... " - however they weren't so chuffed when I pointed  out that we were moving, contracts had been exchanged and the oil in the tank was all included - the incoming people didn't have any obligation to pay and I certainly didn't want to. 

In the end they had to take the oil back 

CliveOfIndia

pritchah said:

We are on heating oil and have the best part of a tankful (about 1000 l, worth around £500)


My inclination is to say no, and offer it to the buyers at a discount. But what if they say they don't want it?

£500 is neither here nor there in comparison to the cost of the house.  If you state that the oil is not included, and the buyers don't want to pay you for it, what are you going to do?  You can hardly siphon it off into jerry cans and take it with you.  Well, technically you could, I guess, but that's going to be one whole heap of hassle.

Just leave it to be included with the sale - maybe increase the asking price by a couple of hundred quid if you feel so inclined, though to my mind that sounds rather petty.

Debbie9009

If I were your buyer I would say no I don’t want it on the basis that it’s going to be difficult for you to take it so you’ll probably end up leaving it anyway.

matt_drummer

Maybe offer them a package deal together with the light bulbs?

propertyrental

I think it's fairly standard for the buyer to pay for the oil. After all, if it was a gas system you wouldn't be paying for their 1st 6 months worth of gas would you?

I sold last year and calculated /charged my buyer for half a 2500 litre tank at the price I'd paid for the oil. Buyer agreed.

(I did quietly point out to the estate agent that if I had to remove the oil, the buyer would have the option of either no heating/hot water till he'd worked out how to get deliveries, or risk running the tank dry with all the associated problems to the boiler.....)

I had a fall back too. Local farmer would pump out the tank and remove the oil but only pay me a very discounted oil price. I believe some oil companies will empty the tank but many won't and they can't exactly sell on your 2nd-hand oil.......

silverwhistle

The buyer could be planning to put in a heat pump or other method of heating, and hence not be bothered too much either way. Besides it'll be less than £500 by the time of your move so I'd be minded to just regard it as a bit of lubrication to make the deal go smoother..