Plot of land with a decommissioned gas station

The idea of calling the city is very good and very important. You just have to reach the right office and ask thoroughly who can give proper information.

According to the owner, the tanks were silted up and are still available underground. They would probably have to be excavated along with the cellar, right?

How did the tanks become silted up?

As the owner, she was obligated to have the tanks decommissioned by a specialized company. Ask for the documents and the company name and get in touch with the company to find out how they assess the tanks. They can certainly also tell you directly what it would cost to dispose of the entire tank system.

Personally, I wouldn’t want to live on top of a tank. The question is also whether they don’t eventually (after about 30 years or so) rust through and then have to be removed anyway.

Mentally, you might actually have to prepare yourself for the disposal of the old tanks. To what extent the surrounding soil is affected will probably only be known after dismantling. How old is the soil assessment? Have them give you a complete copy. Just viewing it is not enough.

I actually just had a very good phone call with the city. I simply called a number that was listed in the contaminated sites information, and the employee there was very helpful. The property is still registered as a contaminated site. However, he can give me more detailed information only when I am on site; for that, I am currently seeking the owner's consent. He also explained the procedure to me regarding a building application, that it is then submitted to them and that only the top few meters are relevant for them, etc. Additionally, I received the email address so I can contact him directly. If necessary, I will try to bring the soil report to the appointment, so he can review it again as an expert. And thanks for the tip about the tank system; I will also inquire about that! If anything, only a tank system disposal would be considered...

@all, one more general question: would you pay the standard land value for such a property? Less because of the possible contamination? More because of the location and city? Location: city with ~320,000 inhabitants, third row to the Rhine and extremely central (which is why I find the property so tempting). It would be a 15-minute walk to the city center.

Would you pay the standard land value for such a plot? Less because of possible contamination? More because of the location and city?

It depends on the actual condition of the soil. There is a wide "range" here.
And finally, it also depends on alternatives and supply and demand.

Supposedly there are other offers, but they didn’t want to commit yet and wanted to "sound out" a bit. That seems a bit suspicious to me...

Sometimes the standard land value lags significantly behind reality, so it can only be used to a limited extent. In any case, I would deduct the renovation costs from the realistic value of the property. However, this can still be above BRW.