Posted on 07/10/2020 11:36:11 AM PDT by rickmichaels
TORONTO -- A Thornhill, Ont. resident said he was stunned after receiving a water bill last month for close to $38,000.
“I nearly passed out. I thought where am I going to get the money to pay that bill," Kenny Wong said, speaking to CTV News Toronto.
Wong said he bought the property in February and he received the bill in June.
“It’s $38,000 and that's the outstanding water bill from the previous owner," Wong said.
Wong explained that on closing the deal for the property, his lawyer didn't check to see if the utility bills were paid in full. The home was vacant for a year and a half and he now believes a water pipe must have burst while the home sat empty.
“I called Alectra Utilities and they said due to privacy reasons I’m not entitled to know anything [about the previous owner] which is really frustrating, but they are demanding I pay the $38,000 outstanding."
Wong feels the utility companyshould have known something was wrong and questioned why a bill would get that high.
“Why didn't they do anything about it? I mean that is really, really off the charts to add up to those kinds of dollars," Wong said.
When CTV News Toronto reached out to Alectra a spokesperson explained that they tried to collect the money from the the seller, but were unsuccessful.
“Mr. Wong was not informed about the water account arrears until the sale had closed," the spokesperson said. “It is the purchaser’s responsibility to ensure they understand any costs and arrears related to the property they are buying.”
Wong did purchase title insurance and has filed a claim hoping it will cover the cost of the bill. Alectra has now assigned an agent to Wong's s case and hopes the two sides can reach a reasonable resolution.
The most common reason for high water bills in the GTA is a running toilet. A single leaky toilet can waste more than 900 cubic metres of water in a month creating a water bill of more than $2,600.
If he was using an attorney, I’m sure the attorney would be happy to pay this. It’s cheaper than a lawsuit.
Malpractice by his lawyer and fraud by the previous owner. He should not even consider paying it.
In a normal country, personal unpaid water bills do not pass on to the next owner. Property taxes, yes. But not water bills.
But Canada is NOT a normal country.
I was wondering about title insurance but I don’t think this would affect the title - yet.
Wouldn’t this show up in a lien check? If not, wouldn’t the obligation be on the former owners, not on the property?
38,000 bucks is a LOT of water over six months.
If the lawyer missed the bill check, he’s the right party to collect from. Or, I should say, his insurance. Not the title insurer, not any home warranty. The buyer assumed all obligations under advice from his lawyer that there weren’t any.
But Canada is NOT a normal country.
This is a title insurance or attorney problem. I wouldn’t allow the insurance company or attorney’s problem become my problem.
No burst water pipe. Neighbors hooked up to whatever spigot was available and helped themselves. The open water line was never shut off by the municipality after the previous owner vacated. Dollars to donuts lots of folk have been getting free water in the interim.
OK, as I thought. This is NOT a water bill.
Keep looking at that picture. Everywhere you look you see “tax”. I sorta suspect Canada water bills are a sort of government agency with tax collection abilities.
Good thing Wong had a title company. They should have caught this.
That’s just wong.
Sue the lawyer. He/she was paid for due diligence. They punted.
Normal bill close to $2k.
I had an attorney hold up closing on a $56 refund I had coming on the common septic assessment. “I don’t care about the $56” I said. “I need to do this,” she said.”This could be malpractice.”
Something is seriously Wong here...?
Seems to me his lawyer is stuck with a $38k water bill.
“For the average real estate transaction, checking for any utility liens or unpaid bills on a property is simple. The title company performs a title search to show any liens filed against a property in the public record. If they find any, the seller will have to satisfy them before the closing. They will also request a final meter reading prior to closing to see if there are any outstanding balances that have not yet become liens.”
“The utility balance along with other unrecorded municipal debt and issues is found when a full municipal lien search is ordered by the title company or law firm handling the closing. At closing, the seller gives the settlement agent their new address to send the final water bill. Once they receive the final bill, they usually pay. On the rare occasion that the seller doesn’t pay the small amount left, it’s added to the new owner’s bill.”
But this can be a problem for foreclosures and bank owned properties.
“Often times, bank owned properties will not have the water and electricity on. This makes it nearly impossible to do a proper home inspection, which is highly recommended for all buyers to conduct. If a seller is resistant to turning on the utilities so you can perform an inspection, it’s a red flag that there may be some major hidden issues. Many banks will perform an inspection upon acquiring the property, so they may share this document with you. However, it may not be up-to-date and reflect current unpaid balances as was the case for the woman in Fairport.”
https://www.proplogix.com/blog/is-a-new-homeowner-responsible-previous-utility-bills
Tell the water company that its their problem because they continued to provide service to a non-paying customer.
The attorney most likley has “Errors and Omissions” coverage. In my mind this should be on the attorney.
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