| PROTECTING YOUR PROPERTY
Homeowner's Insurance
Q. What kind of homeowner's insurance do I need?
A. Broadly speaking, a homeowners' policy is a package deal designed
to pay for the
repair or replacement of your house and belongings, plus extra living
expenses if, say, you
and your family have to stay in a motel for several months while your
home is being
rebuilt. It also covers claims and legal judgments against you for injuries
people suffer in
your home or damage you cause. How much the insurer pays depends, of course,
on the
limits of your policy, which in turn depends on how much you've paid in
premiums.
Although details of insurance policies vary among companies, the general
forms of
coverage are fairly standard. Many homeowners opt for an inexpensive "basic"
policy,
called HO-1 or HO-A, which provides actual cash value of your home and
contents in
case of loss due to specific causes, such as fire. This minimalist type
of policy usually
satisfies lenders, because they are interested only in your ability to
repay the mortgage, not
rebuild your house.
Many financial professionals recommend policies that provide at least
80 percent
replacement value, rather than actual cash value, of your home in the
event of damage
from specific causes, such as fire and theft. These are called "broad"
policies or HO-2 or
HO-B. In most cases, you're better off with replacement value, because
it usually costs
more to replace it than its "market" or "cash" value.
Note that "replacement cost" is
estimated by the insurance agent, and for an additional small fee, guaranteed
replacement
cost coverage will protect you if your agent has underestimated the cost
of replacing your
home. Another way to guard against under-insurance is with an "inflation
guard clause,"
which increases the face value of the policy either according to the annual
increase in local
construction costs or by a given percentage every three months. This rider
can reduce the
chances of your being under-insured, but it doesn't guarantee replacement
cost.
For the best protection, a comprehensive or "all-risk" policy
covers any kind of
damage except specific exclusions, such as floods and earthquakes. Even
with this type of
policy, however, insurance for luxury items, jewelry, art, and antiques
may require
separate riders. If you live in a condo or cooperative, an HO-6 policy
gives you coverage
similar to HO-2. A few companies do offer all-risk coverage for condo
and co-op owners.
As with any other type of significant purchase, it pays to shop around.
Q. What isn't covered by a homeowner's insurance policy?
A. Most policies specifically exclude damage caused by floods
and earthquakes, and some
policies will exclude or limit theft in high crime areas. This doesn't
mean that you can't
purchase insurance for these threats; it simply means that you must pay
for riders on your
policy. Homeowner's policies also provide little if any coverage for home
businesses. If
you're operating a home business, check with your agent to see whether
your business is
adequately protected.
Q. Does homeowner's insurance cover natural disasters?
A. Not necessarily, because the differing nature of these perils
is treated differently by the
insurance industry. Consumers are often confused about what their homeowners'
policy
covers and what it doesn't. The following guide shows what coverage is
available for
specific types of disasters and how you get it:
Floods. Homeowner's policies absolutely exclude damage from flooding,
except
for a narrow range of cases such as a pipe or water tank bursting. You
can't get an
endorsement to cover it at any price; however, if your community is in
a flood-prone area,
you can probably buy a special policy as part of the National Flood Insurance
Program,
administered by private insurers and backed by the federal government.
Any insurance
agent can sell flood policies. Cost depends on what measures your community
has taken to
reduce the risk of flood damage. Until your community meets the standards
of the federal
flood-control program, only limited coverage is available: up to $35,000
for a singlefamily
house and $10,000 for its contents, for a cost of about $250 per year.
Once the
community meets the standards you can get up to $185,000 for a single-family
house and
$60,000 for its contents. The premiums depend on the structure of the
house and how
close it is to the river, but in a moderately flood-prone area, $60,000
of coverage on a
house and its contents might cost about $150.
Earthquakes. The state of California requires insurance carriers to offer
earthquake coverage to anyone in the state who carries one of their homeowners'
policies.
Usually it's an endorsement to the regular policy, expanding the coverage
for a fee. But if
a California policyholder decides not to buy or renew the endorsement,
the carrier isn't
obligated to give him or her a second chance. Of course, given the risk,
earthquake
endorsements in that part of the country don't come cheap. The annual
premium on a
$100,000 house could be anywhere from $150 to $1,200, depending on the
location of the
house and the materials used in its construction. Brick houses, for example,
would be at
the high end of the spectrum. Deductibles on earthquake endorsements are
usually 10
percent of the coverage for the structure and its contents, figured separately.
In other parts
of the country you can get earthquake endorsements, often for next to
nothing--but most
people don't because they don't expect to need them.
Tornadoes and hurricanes. Although standard homeowners' policies cover
windstorms, you may need extra protection if you live in an area such
as Florida or Texas
that is especially prone to hurricanes or tornadoes. In these areas, standard
coverage may
not be available; you have to buy a special policy such as the beach and
windstorm
insurance plans available in seven Atlantic and Gulf Coast states. As
with flood insurance,
any licensed agent or broker in those states can sell it.
Volcanoes are specifically listed as a covered peril in standard homeowners'
policies, so that's one natural disaster you don't have to worry about.
Q. How much does homeowner's insurance cost?
A. The cost of homeowner's insurance varies greatly with the
policy coverage and the age,
location, and replacement cost of your home. It pays to shop around for
the cost of
insurance premiums, but be sure that you are comparing similar, if not
identical, coverage.
Another way to reduce costs substantially is to opt for a high deductible,
such as $500 or
$1,000 if you can afford to pay this amount yourself in case of damage.
You also may
qualify for a discount if you've taken particular safety precautions such
as installing
deadbolt locks or cabling your mobile home to the ground. Ask your insurance
agent what
discounts are available and what you would need to do to qualify.
Shopping for Insurance
Whether you're buying your first policy or shopping for better price
and coverage, begin
by listing your possessions and estimates of their value. Get your
house appraised, either
by an insurance representative or an independent appraiser, to figure
out what it would
cost to rebuild at current prices. Note valuables that might require
special coverage. Then
take the following steps:
• Talk with several different
agents about your insurance needs. Ask them to quote
premium costs with higher and lower deductibles. Compare costs and
coverage.
• Check the reputation of the companies you're
considering. Rating services such as
A.M. Best & Co., Moody's Investor Services, Standard & Poor's
Corporation, and
Duff & Phelps study companies' financial stability and ability
to pay claims. Your
insurance agent should have the latest ratings for the companies he
or she works with.
• Ask your agent to help you interpret
the ratings scales, which vary between the
services and can be confusing. You want to be reasonably sure your
insurer will be
able to pay your claim.
• Watch out for policies that limit
recovery on personal possession to "four times the
actual cash value." This could mean you would get less than you
need to replace your
old furniture and drapes.
• Avoid policies that limit reimbursements
to what the insurance company would be
able to pay for a given item, because the company could probably buy
it
wholesale.Keep your agent informed of additions to your house and
major purchases
that might affect the level of coverage you need.
• Periodically
review your coverage to make sure you're adequately insured. |
Q. What should I do if I need to file a claim?
A. The claims process for theft or damage to your home or its
contents is fairly basic, but
it will go more smoothly if you have taken inventory of your possessions
and their worth
ahead of time. In case of theft, first call the police. Then call your
agent or company
immediately. Ask whether you are covered for the situation, whether the
claim exceeds
your deductible, how long it will take to process the claim, and whether
you will need
estimates for repairs. Follow up your call with a written explanation
of what happened. If
you need to make temporary repairs to secure your home or protect it from
the elements,
keep track of expenses, but don't make permanent repairs until the adjuster
has inspected
the damage.
Taking Inventory
Although you don't need a detailed inventory to buy insurance, and
you can eventually get
a sizable check from the insurance company without one, the claims
adjusting process
goes a lot more smoothly if you have clear, accurate records. The
time-honored method is
to fill in a "household inventory" booklet available from
your agent, recording purchase
dates of furniture, equipment, and valuables and estimating replacement
costs. It helps to
attach bills of sale, canceled checks, or appraisal records. The more
detail you can include,
the better.
Another option is to use a computer software package designed to categorize
records of personal possessions and make it easy to update them. Some
of these programs
can print out the records room by room, in case of partial damage
to your house.
For a visual record, consider either photographs or a videotaped tour
of your
house, complete with commentary. Include the insides of closets and
cabinets, and take
close-ups of computers, jewelry and other valuables.
Send a copy of your inventory to your attorney, store it in a safe-deposit
box, or
leave it with a friend, but be sure to have a back-up in a safe place. |
Q. What can you do if you have a problem with your insurance
company?
A. If you're dissatisfied with the way your adjuster handles
your claim, first talk to your
agent. If that doesn't help, call the company's consumer affairs department.
Then try the
National Insurance Consumer Helpline (1-800-942-4242), which might be
able to suggest
a course of action. Finally, you could call your state's insurance department
to complain
and ask for help. If these approaches do not bring a satisfactory settlement,
consider hiring
your own, independent adjuster for an independent appraisal of your damage.
You'll have
to pay a fee of 10 to 15 percent of your final settlement. Check with
your state insurance
department, though, to find out whether public adjusters have to be licensed
in your state.
Don't do business with someone who comes to your door after a loss, claiming
to be an
adjuster; there are scam artists out there eager to take advantage of
your misfortune.
If necessary, you could insist on arbitration of the dispute with your
insurance
carrier. An independent arbitrator selected by the attorneys for both
sides will hear the
arguments and decide what compensation you're entitled to. For the name
of an arbitration
organization near you, contact Arbitration Forums, P.O. Box 217500, Tampa,
FL 33688-
1500 (1-800-967-8889) or the American Arbitration Association (1-212-484-4000).
For
disputes involving just a few thousand dollars, it's probably cheaper
to present your own
case in small claims court.
Security Issues
Q. What should you do if there is an intruder in the house?
A. Everyone's afraid of finding someone in the house at night.
If it happens, avoid a
confrontation--your life is more important than your possessions. If possible,
run away
and call the police. If you can't get yourself and your family out of
the house, lock
yourselves in a room. If you're face to face with an intruder, stay calm
and be cooperative.
What about self defense? You do have a legal right to protect yourself
and your
property, but recognize that you may end up in court if you shoot an intruder
or whack
him over the head with an iron pipe. You would have to argue that you
really did act in
self-defense or in defense of your property, and it would be up to the
jury to decide
whether or not to believe you.
Basically, the law says that you can use reasonable force to defend yourself
if
you're being attacked or if you have a reasonable belief that you will
be attacked. That is,
you don't have to wait until the intruder is actually coming at you with
a knife. The key
word here is "reasonable"; the jury would have to decide whether
a reasonable person
would have thought that a toy gun was real or that a hand going into the
pocket was
reaching for a weapon.
Q. What is considered "reasonable force"?
A. States vary widely on what they consider "reasonable
force." In general, if you use
force against an intruder, use no more than appears necessary. That is,
if a shout sends the
burglar running, don't pull a gun and shoot him in the back. If a single
blow stops a
burglar in his tracks, don't beat him to a pulp. If the intruder isn't
threatening bodily harm
to someone in the house, you're on shaky ground if you use deadly force.
Some courts
have held that a homeowner who could retreat safely isn't justified in
beating or killing the
intruder. Likewise, courts have held that a homeowner isn't justified
in attacking a burglar
if it appears that a shout or warning would be enough.
What about booby-trapping your home to keep burglars out? Despite the
popularity of the movie "Home Alone," people have gotten into
serious legal trouble for
that sort of thing. Even if you're fed up with repeated break-ins, you
can't set up a gun
rigged to shoot anyone who comes through the window. First, it's not up
to you to impose
a death sentence on someone who might try to break in, and second, the
next person
through the window might be a firefighter trying to save you.
A Checklist on Home Security
How easy would it be for a crook to get into your home? Experts advise
homeowners to
begin by looking at their home as a burglar might. Identify the easiest
place to get in and
make it harder.
• Are there exterior lights on the front
and back sides?
• Are there shrubs around your doors and
windows that a burglar could use for cover?
Better trim them.
• Do you have a privacy fence that could
provide burglars with too much privacy?
• Do you have deadbolt
locks on your doors? Do you keep them locked, even if you're
out working in the yard?
• Are your doors solid, at least
1 1/4 inch thick, and do they fit snugly in the frame?
•
Have you put in a specially designed lock for your sliding glass door?
Could a burglar
slide a window open from the outside and climb in? If you have double-hung
windows, a removable nail pinning the upper and lower halves together
is quite
effective.
• Should you consider grates for your street-level
windows? (Be aware that they can trap
you inside in case of fire.
• Would an alarm go off if an
intruder stepped inside? Burglars hate noise.
• A sticker
on your window declaring you have an alarm system may be enough to
scare
off some would-be intruders (whether you actually have an alarm system
or not).
• Do you ever leave your house keys with your car
keys when you have your car
parked? Do you carry house keys on a key ring with a name and address
tag? Do you
hide a key in a secret place outside your home? Burglars know where
to look.
• When you go on vacation, could strangers tell
you're gone? Don't let mail and
newspapers pile up outside, and make sure your lawn stays mowed and
your walks
stay shoveled. Use automatic timers for lights and a radio, and leave
your blinds open
in their usual position. |
Q. Does the law prohibit me from destroying wild animals on my
property?
A. It depends on the animal. Many states allow killing of gophers,
rattlesnakes, and
coyotes without a permit, but most states impose hefty fines for killing
other wild animals
without a permit. Your state department of fish and wildlife has jurisdiction
over wild
animals, and a call to the nearest office will probably get you some advice.
In some cases
it isn't difficult to deter an invading animal. An eight-foot-high fence
will stop most deer,
and dried blood, as well as commercial mixtures, appears to repel rabbits.
Storing trash so
that it is not accessible to raccoons quickly forces these very smart
(and often rabid)
animals to find new stomping grounds.
It is true, however, that some animals are difficult to deter. Farmers
lose thousands
of dollars of crops to deer, pronghorns, and other graceful neighbors.
In the West, ranchers
cope with marauding bears and coyotes. Many states assist farmers with
reducing the
damage, and some reimburse farmers and ranchers for wildlife damage. Note
that in most
cases reimbursement programs, which are funded by hunting license fees,
aren't open to
farmers who bar hunters from their land.
Environmental Hazards
Q. What kinds of environmental hazards should I be concerned about?
A. A home can look and smell fine, yet have deadly lead dust
in the air, cancer-causing
radon in the basement, or an underground oil tank leaching oil into the
water table.
Although toxic waste regulations apply to homeowners in much the same
way as they
apply to businesses, no laws require asbestos, lead, and other contaminants
to be removed
from owner-occupied residences. It's a matter of health and safety for
you and your
family.
Q. How do I determine if there's an environmental problem in my
home?
A. In some cases, you may find out about a problem accidentally,
such as when a painter
points out lead-based paint on your woodwork or a remodeling contractor
finds asbestos
around the furnace and won't proceed until it's removed. You might learn
about lead the
hard way when your children can't think straight, or about contaminated
water when the
whole family gets sick. Health problems from asbestos or radon, however,
wouldn't show
up for another thirty years. The only way to discover and correct the
problem may be to
hire an expert to conduct the right tests.
In a growing number of states, sellers are required by law to inform potential
buyers of knowledge about asbestos or other toxic substances in the house.
Then it's up to
the buyer and seller to work out who's responsible for dealing with it.
The seller might
lower the price to compensate the buyer for having to cope with the problem.
In other
states, the general rule is "buyer beware." A seller can't set
out to misrepresent or hide the
condition or lie if asked, but there's no obligation to disclose the problem.
These days,
though, home buyers often make the offer contingent on a satisfactory
result of testing.
Regular home inspectors aren't usually qualified to test for lead or radon,
so getting an
accurate test would require hiring a qualified specialist.
If you intend to test for radon, asbestos, lead, or other household toxins,
be careful
about who you hire to test and deal with it. For example, people claiming
to be asbestos
consultants and contractors may find asbestos and try to convince you
that it must be
removed right away, even though the proper treatment for asbestos in many
cases is to
leave it in place. Then they'll remove it unnecessarily, which is a waste
of money, and do
so improperly, which can increase the health risk. To avoid such scams,
do some research
on the nature of each home toxin, and find out what services are available
and what
procedures and precautions the job involves to be done correctly. For
names of licensed
professionals in your area, check state or local health departments or
Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) regional offices. As with any home improvements
contractor,
ask for references from previous clients, make sure the contractor has
done similar
projects, and get estimates from more than one. (See the "Home Improvement
and
Repairs" section for information on hiring contractors.)
Q. What is asbestos?
A. Asbestos is a fibrous material found in rocks and soils worldwide.
Until the early 1970s
it was widely used in flooring, walls, shingles, ceiling tiles, as insulation
or fire retardant
for furnaces and wiring. When the material crumbles or flakes, tiny asbestos
flakes escape
into the air. You breathe the fibers, they persist in your lungs, and
with repeated long-term
exposure you're likely to develop lung or stomach cancer.
Q. What should I do about asbestos in my home?
A. If the asbestos-containing material is in good shape--not
flaking or peeling--and not
likely to be disturbed, the best thing to do is leave it in place. But
if it's going to be
scraped, hammered, sawed, or otherwise disturbed in a remodeling project,
a trained
professional should be contacted to find a way to minimize the dissemination
of the
material.
Since total removal is expensive and difficult, intermediate options include
applying a sealant or covering it with a protective wrap or jacket. It's
tricky business, and
even the cleanup needs to be done with a special vacuum cleaner to avoid
scattering
asbestos fibers. Don't try any of this yourself. Make sure the contractors
you hire don't
track it through the house or break the old material into small pieces.
To avoid conflict of interest, anyone you hire to survey your house for
asbestos
shouldn't be connected to an asbestos correction firm. The federal government,
as well as
some state and local governments, offers training courses for asbestos
consultants and
contractors. Ask to see documentation proving that everyone working with
asbestos in
your home has completed state or federal training.
Q. Why is lead dangerous?
A. Lead is a soft, metallic element occurring naturally in rocks
and soil all over the world.
Until fairly recently, it was commonly used in pipes, plumbing solder,
paint, and gasoline.
If you breathe particles of lead dust or drink lead-contaminated water,
it accumulates in
your blood, bones, or soft tissue. High concentrations of lead can cause
permanent damage
to the brain, central nervous system, kidneys, and red blood cells. Lead
is especially
dangerous for infants, children, pregnant women, and the unborn because
growing bodies
absorb lead more easily and their tissues are more sensitive to it. Also,
a given
concentration of lead is worse on a child's smaller body than an adult's.
In residential
buildings, lead in drinking water and lead paint pose the major dangers.
Q. What can you do about lead in drinking water?
A. Lead-based solder has been banned since 1988, but homes built
before then often have
lead solder that corrodes into drinking water. You can't tell whether
pipes leach lead by
looking at them, but a simple chemical test can identify it. If you want
to have your water
tested, ask your local, county, or state health or environment department
about qualified
testing laboratories. If you're having plumbing work done in an older
home, check for lead
pipes and make sure the plumber doesn't use lead solder. Even new faucets
and fixtures
can put some lead into the water. One way to reduce the risk is to run
the faucet for one
minute before using water for drinking or cooking. Never use hot water
for drinking,
cooking, or especially for making baby formula. Heat increases the leaching
of lead into
water.
If you do have lead in your water, several devices are available to reduce
corrosion, including calcite filters, distillation units, and reverse-osmosis
devices. Be
aware that water softeners and carbon, sand and cartridge filters are
not effective for
removing lead. Get qualified advice before buying or leasing a device,
as their
effectiveness varies.
Q. What should be done about lead paint?
A. Lead-based paint was applied to some two-thirds of the houses
built before 1940 and a
third of those built between 1940 and 1960, according to the EPA. Lead
paint tastes sweet,
so children have been poisoned from chewing on flakes of paint. Also there
is a potential
danger from lead dust that is stirred up when lead-based painted woodwork
is scraped,
sanded, or heated with an open flame stripper. Then it settles in fibers
and fabric and gets
stirred up again by normal cleaning.
The only accurate way to tell whether your house has lead-based paint
is to remove
a sample and have it tested in a qualified laboratory. Contact a local,
county, or state
health or environmental department about where to find one.
If lead-based paint is in good condition and there is no possibility that
it will be
nibbled on by children, it's best to leave it alone. Otherwise, you can
cover it with
wallpaper or some other building material or completely replace the woodwork.
Removing lead paint properly and safely is a time-consuming and expensive
process that
requires everyone else to leave the house during removal and clean-up.
If the house was painted on the outside before 1950, the surrounding soil
is
probably contaminated with lead. Don't leave patches of bare soil, and
clean your floors
and windowsills regularly with wet rags and mops. Make sure everyone in
the family
washes their hands frequently.
Also note that some states have strict laws regarding lead paint and rental
units. In
Massachusetts, for example, few landlords would rent their units to people
with children
under age six unless the unit had been de-leaded. That's because landlords
can be held
liable for any lead-induced illnesses that later develop in these children
if the unit had not
been de-leaded.
Q. What is radon?
A. Radon is a colorless, odorless, tasteless gas resulting from
the natural decay of uranium
in the earth. It comes into your house through small cracks, floor drains,
wall/floor joints,
and the pores in hollow block walls, and tends to accumulate in the lowest
level of the
home. It can also get trapped in ground water, so homes with wells are
more likely to have
a radon problem. Radon particles get trapped in your lungs, where they
break down and
release bursts of radiation that can damage lung tissue and cause cancer.
Q. How do you test for radon?
A. Testing for radon in well water requires sending a sample
to a laboratory for analysis.
Inexpensive test kits for radon in the air are available at hardware stores,
but be sure they
have been approved by a federal or state health, environmental or consumer
protection
agency. Long-term testing over a year is most accurate, but short-term
testing can let you
know if you have a potential problem.
Most homes contain from one to two picocuries of radon per liter of air
(pCi/L). If
rooms in your home have more than four picocuries of radon per liter of
air, it should be
reduced. This normally isn't a do-it-yourself project, but professional
radon-reduction
contractors can determine the source of the gas and seal leaks and install
fans, pumps, or
other equipment to keep it out. Special filter systems can remove water
from your water
supply. Depending on the number of sources, the amount of radon and the
construction of
the home, installing radon-reduction equipment costs anywhere from several
hundred to
several thousand dollars but in most cases is less expensive than de-leading.
Q. What is considered toxic waste?
A. Usually toxic waste is associated with chemical companies
or nuclear reactors. But a
residential property also can harbor toxic wastes that are potentially
dangerous to the
homeowner and neighbors. For example, many family farms have a ravine
or back lot
that's long been a handy place to dump discards, such as rusting metal
objects or empty
pesticide containers that haven't necessarily been rinsed out according
to label
instructions. Or a private home may have a leaky heating-oil tank buried
under the back
yard, either one still in use or an abandoned one that was never emptied
when the heating
system was converted to natural gas. Oil, pesticides, or other toxic substances
from these
sources can seep fumes into a neighbor's basement, contaminate nearby
wells, or migrate
through the water table until there's an oil slick on the nearest creek.
Q. Who is responsible for cleaning up toxic wastes?
A. The law may hold homeowners responsible for the cost of cleaning
up toxic waste sites
whether or not they had anything to do with creating the problem. Responsible
parties are
"jointly and severally" liable, including the current homeowner,
the owner of the property
when the pollution was caused, and the person or company who caused it
(which could be
a third party altogether). "Jointly and severally" means that
any one of them can be forced
to pay the entire cost. That may be the current homeowner, who is probably
the easiest
one to find. Then it is up to the homeowner to find the others and sue
to recover the cost.
When someone discovers the problem and the city or county health department
is
contacted, an inspector will be sent out to conduct tests and determine
the source of the
pollution. The cost of investigation alone can be expensive. Then the
department begins
the process of cleaning up the site to enforce state regulations. The
clean-up process might
involve ordering the homeowner to hire a consultant and a remediation
crew. If it is an
emergency or an immediate threat to water quality, the agency may send
someone in to
clean it up, then sue the homeowner for reimbursement. But that is a difficult
process;
usually agencies first try to get the homeowner to take care of a problem.
The clean-up process may involve judgment calls and negotiation. Oil in
the soil
from a leaking tank, for example, will eventually degrade. Instead of
hauling all the old
soil out and replacing it, it might be less expensive to drill new wells
for those affected. If
your property has a toxic waste problem, hire an attorney experienced
with environmental
matters to help you through the process. It might involve obtaining an
analysis to estimate
how long before the waste would degrade and how far and fast it's likely
to migrate until
then. In some cases, the negotiations turn into a battle of experts.
What if you don't think you should have to pay for clean up because you
didn't
have anything to do with causing the pollution? Your only hope is the
"innocent
landowner defense," under the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization
Act of 1986,
which limits the liability of a landowner who made "all appropriate
inquiry" into the
environmental condition of the property before buying it. That means the
only way you
would be off the hook is if you had the foresight to have an environmental
survey done
before buying the property to see whether it was contaminated by hazardous
substances.
That would include a visual inspection of the property and compilation
of a history of past
owners and their waste disposal practices, contaminant releases and violations,
and other
information. Chances are you didn't do that; it's the sort of thing lenders
sometimes require
for commercial loans because lenders also can be on the hook for toxic
waste sites.
To prevent future problems, check with your local health authority to
find out how
to meet state regulations for disposal of motor oil, paint, antifreeze,
and other toxic
substances.
|
