Potential problems with purchasing land with junk

This is an eye opening issue.

Hi John,

While I wouldn’t say never.  I would say extreme caution needs to be used, AND the added costs needs to be calculated into the purchase.   I have pulled some 250 55 gallon garbage bags of junk off my property. I had 6 acres.  My neighbor offered to sell me 5 attached acres.   He was the only person who owned land attached to mine.  Yes, there was a junk pile on the property hidden in the woods.  I had an added benefit in that I had free access to a dumpster. Anyway, I now own 11 acres, and I have no regrets.  But my eyes were wide open.

Trash happens, you definitely need to be careful about it, but it doesn’t need to be a deal breaker.  It’s all a calculated decision.

It's a valid concern.

If it's a simple trash pile, maybe. Watch out, though, people often bury this stuff before they sell a property.

If it's been a neighbourhood dump site for years and years, there's a good chance there is old oil, batteries, and even worse stuff. It may be leaching into the groundwater. Depending on local laws, you could be legally and financially responsible for fixing all of that after you become the owner. Got an extra million dollars to throw away? This is the perfect place to lose it all.

Are you willing to spend years dealing with lawyers, consultants, laboratories and multiple layers of government to deal with this? Is that how you want to spend your time?

And that land could well be contaminated with heavy metals and god-knows-what that's worse. Are you going to grow your food in that soil?

Run far, far away.

I have seen some property with junk. Old washing machines, old cars, old rvs or trailer houses, etc.

Be prepared to haul this stuff to the land fill or live with it.

My neighbor jokes that his place looks like Fred Sanford's junk yard ten years ago.

Your decision, haul it away or live with it.  Or look for some other property.

I have looked at places like this here in Tulare County, and the junk on the surface was only part of the story. I would walk the whole lot slowly, look for buried metal, old tires, broken glass, and anything leaking, and ask what used to be dumped there. I would also price the hauling before making an offer, because bulky appliances and trailers take more trips and time than they look like they will. Sorting as I go helps: metal to one pile, wood to another, and hazardous stuff kept separate. That way the cleanup stays manageable instead of turning into one endless pile. — Mike V.

The opposite problem has occurred in Melbourne, Victoria about 200km from me.
Pristine land has been rented and within 2-3 weeks 15,000 tonnes of industrial and demolition waste has appeared.
Because landfill tips have big levies to encourage recycling, these illegal dumps are created, money is dealt with by transfer, nobody seems to even be at the gate,
and trucks just arrive 24hrs a day dumping .
 The authorities just ring the landowner and explain what is happening, but dont help to stop it.
They dont seem to have the power anyway.
That is the landowners role, who are also responsible for cleaning it up!
Costs of $2 million are being quoted and nobody has that spare cash.