[shrouded]

My wife and I are looking at buying our first home. We may have gotten a mortgage arranged (our fingers are crossed). There is one place we are very interested in, but it has one feature that I know little about. The home was built in 85, and since the city hadn't run gas to the location yet (though it has now), it was built to use propane.

What I currently know is this: there is an underground propane tank on the property. The valves were replaced two years ago. Everything _currently_ functions as it should. I don't know enough about propane to know if there are specific things I should look out for. What is the general lifespan of a tank? Should I anticipate an expensive piece of maintenance having to be done to it in the near future? What are the typical costs of having a property put on the city's natural gas?

I am calling around trying to find a good source of info locally. Any advice in the meantime (or links to good resources) would be greatly appreciated.