Arrrgggghhh, I am on the hook for previous owners water bill.

[Ben Cadotte]

I bought our house 16 months ago. I just got a notice that due to the previous owner not paying their bill. I have to pay it or have a lien placed on the property. The title company says the house disclosure says well, which it has on property, but the house is connected to city water. So basically since it was not taken care of at closing I am now on the hook for it.

[Joe Pelonio]

I was in management at a water district, and worked there for 17 years. It was not legal for us to make a new owner pay for the old owner's bill.

They should have put a lien on it before it went to escrow, to be paid from the seller's profits. If the amount is significant, it might well be worth getting an attorney to fight it. Probably just a letter from an attorney will stop it. Some collection people will try threats in the hope of getting someone to pay when it's not something they can really do.

At the very least ask them to show you the law that gives them that authority.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

I bought our house 16 months ago. I just got a notice that due to the previous owner not paying their bill. I have to pay it or have a lien placed on the property.

This smells wrong.
In Maine there is a straw man law that serves to protect the workmen who come under a general contractor and when the contractor skips out leaving the workmen high and dry they can go after the land owner where the work was performed. This law is misapplied in a lot of ways,

I think you need local counsel.

The title company says the house disclosure says well, which it has on property, but the house is connected to city water. So basically since it was not taken care of at closing I am now on the hook for it.

This tells me that you "took" the property without notice of any prior claims.

However, this claim should have arisen while the previous owner held title.

Now however, the claim should fall outside the chain of title.

I don't know whether Maine is a Race-Notice state or what but, I should think that local counsel will be able to help you.


If in the end you can not get out from under the water bill (and I really think you can) then, you can sue the prior owner, get a judgment in superior court (not small claims) and for the rest of his life that judgment will make it impossible for him to apply for so much as a credit card until he pays it.

[Jim Becker]

A agree with the sentiment that you need local council to deal with this. I don't feel it's right that you could be held responsible for a previous owner's debt when there was no evidence of that prior to closing, etc.

[Matt Meiser]

You definitely need to talk to someone local. I just recently read that there have been problems locally with title companies making sure water bills get paid and the result was that the new owner is on the hook for the bill--I would assume legally. Laws regarding this must vary by location.

[Larry Browning]

You should fight this. If there are no laws in you community to keep this from happening, there should be. Fight it for yourself, and also for everyone else that this could happen to in the future. This is simply not your debt!!!! You should not have to pay it.
I recently purchased a foreclosed house as rental property. When we tried to get the utilities turned on, we were told that we needed to show them proof that we had just purchased the house to get them turned on. I did that, and had no further issues. This is the way it should be for you as well.

[Lee Schierer]

I agree with the others, that you need to talk with a legal person, preferably the attorney that handled your closing that said your property was free and clear when they had you sign the title search. My guess is that the water company is out of luck with you paying the bill and they should not be able to deny service to you. If they property disclosure said the water supply was a well there may be fraud involved on someones part.

Around here title transfers are advertised in the paper and any business with outstanding obligations against the property are afforded that opportunity of notice that it is changing hands so they can voice their claim.

[Dave Lehnert]

How much are we talking$$$ If $20 I would pay it and move on.

[Mike SoRelle]

Check with who closed it (Atty or Title company ((not sure which type of state you're in))), and read the fine print in your insured closing protection letter, while they are designed to protect the lender, the coverage does extend to you.

The failure to disclose would fall back on the seller, though you might have to take them to civil court to collect on that.

[Justin Leiwig]

I'm not sure about how it is in maine, but herer if there is something that arises out of misrepresentation of the property you can pretty much sue everyone from the previous owners to the selling agent to the company that performed the title search. Did you purchase title insurance? I believe that it guards against things that happened before you took possession.

It's fishy that they are coming after you over a year later though. Talk to your mayor or city counsel.

[Rob Russell]

Our city water bill runs about $50/quarter, so it'd be about $250 for 16 months. I'd want to see want an attorney would cost before I went too far down that road.

It might be cheapest to pay the bill.

I would fire back something that puts the honiss on the water company to prove why they feel they have the right to lein your property for bills accrued before closing.

[Danny Thompson]

Check with your closing attorney, whom you have already paid to make sure the title was free and clear. If the disclosure is incorrect, then it is my understanding that the previous owner is liable.

[Ben Rafael]

How can a lien be placed on a property that is not owned by the debtor?
I'd sue the pants off of anyone who did that me.
You cant just go placing liens on property willy nilly.

[Dino Gutierrez]

Down here in GA, if you accept services, ie. water, construction ect...and do not pay...the contractor/service provider can place a lien against your property to recoup the outstand debt for said services.

Also, FYI, I have placed liens against property owners in my subdivision for violation of building convenants. I am the homeowner association president, and some owners have violated the convenants and refuse to abide by them. The lien is $50 a month until the violations are removed, that adds up and they cannot sell their house until it is paid through the county tax office.

In the forementioned case, I would fight it and seek legal counsel for direction. This sounds real fishy to me, or a bit over zealous on the water companies part.

Good luck!

[Ben Rafael]

Dino,
You are placing the lien on a property owned by the debtor. In this case the debtor does not own the property anymore and apparently the lien was not placed on the property before the new owner took title.