Posted on 07/10/2020 11:36:11 AM PDT by rickmichaels
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 doesnt pay the small amount left, its added to the new owners 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, its 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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