I dropped $2,500 on a full Phase I ESA for a Corktown property and it flagged a buried tank I never would have found.

Has anyone else had a Phase I save them from a massive cleanup bill in a historic Detroit neighborhood?

3 comments

3 Comments

Found a similar issue with a property in Southwest Detroit. The Phase I report showed it used to be a small machine shop back in the 40s. They found soil contamination from old solvents right where I wanted to put an addition. That report gave me the proof to back out of the deal without losing my deposit. The seller had no idea it was there either. Spending that money upfront felt painful but it saved me from a six figure problem.

mila_harris6d ago

Yeah, that upfront cost is so worth it to avoid the huge mess later.

juliashah6d ago

Seriously? A little old machine shop from the 40s and you walked away? That seems like overkill. Most of that stuff breaks down over decades anyway. I'd have just dug it out and hauled it off before building, probably cheaper than your fancy report.