House in Mantua, why hasn't it sold?

[Anonymous]

This quote from the article seems relevant:

"Nobody will say exactly how long it will take to rid the neighborhood of all the underground oil. County health officials and fire marshals rely on a rule of thumb: In the first 20 years of the cleanup effort, only 10 percent of the hydrocarbons now in the soil will be removed or broken down.

Star doesn't dispute that estimate.

"The sad truth is that the environmental community and industry are finding that it's virtually impossible to restore contaminated areas, once they've been contaminated, to a pre-contamination condition," says Epstein. "That's been a real surprise to a lot of people, a real disappointment."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This quote from the article seems relevant:

"Nobody will say exactly how long it will take to rid the neighborhood of all the underground oil. County health officials and fire marshals rely on a rule of thumb: In the first 20 years of the cleanup effort, only 10 percent of the hydrocarbons now in the soil will be removed or broken down.

Star doesn't dispute that estimate.

"The sad truth is that the environmental community and industry are finding that it's virtually impossible to restore contaminated areas, once they've been contaminated, to a pre-contamination condition," says Epstein. "That's been a real surprise to a lot of people, a real disappointment."

This. We passed on this neighborhood and settled in Kings Park West. We know people in Country Club estates and Burke who did the same thing. It's a massively overpriced/overrated place. The environmental issues alone kept me from considering.

[Anonymous]

question: are we sure its just mantua that's affected? what about neighboring areas?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:whats wrong with 22031, the market was better there 3-4 years ago

now its literally impossible to sell anything in 22031

You keep saying this, but the stats say you are wrong:

https://www.zillow.com/homes/recently_sold/Fairfax-VA-22031/house_type/67121_rid/globalrelevanceex_sort/38.889028,-77.214661,38.828943,-77.306929_rect/13_zm/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That City paper article is nuts! I wonder how many houses in the neighborhood are still owned by Texaco. I have to think most buyers are just ignorant.

Is a toxic waste site like this something realtors must disclose?

Property ownership is public record, so this is very easy to answer. It looks like there are 24 houses on Tovito Drive and 3 houses on Convento Terrace that are owned by Texaco.

So they rent them out to unsuspecting tenants?

+1

Yup. Every neighborhood has at least one problematic issue - tangible or not. Whether you really know what goes on, is up to you. There is a poster that drones on about "flight paths" and other nonsense - comparatively, I would take the flight path (and the other virtual non-issues that poster drones on about)! At least you have an idea what you are getting.

[Anonymous]

You can't compare something annoying but innocent could like flight paths to living on a toxic waste dump.

[Anonymous]

Grew up in the 80s Fairfax....recall "Mantua" being a great neighborhood....but not so much anymore....its been on the slide for sometime now. The homes are generally old with very little tear down activity, etc. The only thing keeping it from getting worse is Woodson HS IMO.

[Anonymous]

oil contamination last forever....its impossible to get rid of millions gallons oil underneath your house

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You can't compare something annoying but innocent could like flight paths to living on a toxic waste dump.

PP here. My point exactly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:oil contamination last forever....its impossible to get rid of millions gallons oil underneath your house

+1

[Anonymous]

I just found this online. Very detailed maps of affected areas and treatment system. The remediation was deemed complete last year.
https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2016-09/documents/motivaenterprises_shutdownsystemplan.pdf

[Anonymous]

Maybe it makes sense to avoid that particular section of Mantua if you're that worried, but Mantua is a very big neighborhood. There are plenty of homes in parts not very close to the oil spill at all.

[Anonymous]

The conglomerate of oil companies involved (Texaco and others - written in one of the articles, Amoco is one of them, and I don't think they are around anymore) - paid a pittance for those homes they bought and rented out. Maybe they paid "90% of market value" (again, see articles) - but it certainly was a drop in the bucket to BIG OIL. That, and those companies recovered by renting out those affected homes. Despicable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe it makes sense to avoid that particular section of Mantua if you're that worried, but Mantua is a very big neighborhood. There are plenty of homes in parts not very close to the oil spill at all.

Maybe but why but near a toxic site at all? No shortage of other neighborhoods to choose from.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe it makes sense to avoid that particular section of Mantua if you're that worried, but Mantua is a very big neighborhood. There are plenty of homes in parts not very close to the oil spill at all.

Maybe but why but near a toxic site at all? No shortage of other neighborhoods to choose from.

+1

I'll take the flight path