Hi Tony,
I am a retired attorney and have dealt with this issue many times before. What everyone above has said is generally correct. Buying the property is fraught with potential disasters. Without going into all of the ins and out of the law, lets just say that you (and all other prior owners) can be on the hook for remediation (clean up costs)which is VERY expensive. The best advice I can give you if you want to go forward is make sure you have a good attorney with experience in property law with malpractice insurance. And dont be shy about asking him/her how much coverage they have.
That being said, there are some opportunities to buy properties like this out there. Some cities have agreed to do the clean up or accept responsibility for liability in order to get the property on the tax roll again, so check into that.
Your atty can put contingencies on the purchase and sale contract that will help protect you such as testing of the tanks/groundwater. Just be aware that you are on the hook even if you did not create the pollution. Good luck,
John
