Deal Story | Niagara, ND
The Fuel Tank in the Yard
A buried tank, a long repair list, and a closing that moved more than once.
By Josh Tuinder | Last Updated: October 1, 2026
Buyer
Tyler
Where
Niagara, ND
The Hurdle
A buried fuel tank
Closed
June 2024
Where it Started
A buyer who wanted no neighbors
Tyler’s first requirement was simple: be as far away from any neighbors as possible. He found me through a call or email to my brokerage, and I honestly don’t remember which. All I know is I got his number, called, and Amber, his wife, picked up, so I talked to her first.
They were moving from Kentucky for a new job in North Dakota, on a VA loan, and the place outside Niagara had what they were after: acreage, a barn, and room to breathe.
Old country houses come with generations of living on that land, and you never really know what will turn up.
what went sideways
The appraiser found the rest
We did everything in the right order. Their inspection came back, we asked the sellers for a few repairs, and the sellers said yes. Then the VA appraiser walked the property and found more.
The appraisal was approved, with a list of conditions that had to be finished before final loan review. Peeling paint on the barn, shed and garage. Peeling paint and soffit and fascia work on the house. Trim on two windows. Handrails on the basement and second floor steps. And one line that stopped everybody: remove the underground fuel tank. The appraiser had spotted a pipe sticking out of the ground, capped off. That tank was the biggest item on the list, and it nearly took the whole deal down with it, because it landed on top of a long run of back and forth over repairs.
what i did about it
Who was going to dig it out?
Here’s the break we got. The sellers worked for a company with the equipment and the people to dig a tank out of the ground, and they had already closed on their new home, so they needed this sale to close as much as we did. They ended up paying for every repair on that list, and for the dig.
The barn paint and everything else on that list was just pieces in a puzzle. Small on their own, the whole deal together. We worked through them one at a time, through several closing extensions, until it came down to the lender’s final sign-off.
How it ended
The night before closing
It ended with very happy sellers and very, very happy buyers. But the deal had one more trick. The lender didn’t give us clear to close until June 28, days after we were supposed to close, and after several extensions already. At that point I was thinking, what else could possibly go wrong? Tyler and Amber were there with their moving trucks on the 27th.
We signed an early move-in agreement, and they stayed in the house the night before closing without moving anything in. They slept on the floor of a house that wasn’t theirs yet. That was the last chapter of a wild one.
What I would tell you
Old land has a past.
Old country houses come with generations of living on that land. Something is probably buried out there. On a VA or FHA loan, that can mean paying to remove it or negotiating the sellers into doing it.
The inspection isn’t the last word.
Our inspection list was done and the sellers had agreed to it. Then the appraiser found more. Plan for a second round of repairs, and don’t treat the deal as safe until the appraisal is in.
Know where the sellers are.
These sellers had already closed on their next home, so they needed the sale to close too. That’s why they paid for the repairs and the dig. Ask early where the other side is in their own move.
what they said
“Incredibly friendly and helpful during the entire process of our interstate move.”
Tyler · Google review, 5 stars · Read all reviews
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