Shared Water Well - Terminating Agreement

[Beltzington]

Want to test the water to see what the TBN pool of knowledge advises. 10+ years ago when my FIL passed my wife and I where left with a 1 acre parcel of land in the North GA mountains, the property had an old single wide trailer and a well. The single wide was falling apart and I had it removed as it was an eyesore and a vagrant magnet. At the time the well was being shared by 5 or 6 other people who typically are only part time residents. Much to my surprise and dismay when going through the paperwork I found a legal contract stipulating the users would be responsible for maintaining the well and paying the water bill and in doing so would have access to the water indefinitely. Well for the last several years only one of them has made the effort to pay thier share and based on the water usage I believe only one (non paying) resident is still using the well full time. The property is not worth much maybe $10K on a good day and although we intended to use it as an RV lot when were visiting the area we have only done that a couple times. So were are my questions:

By not paying the bill have they voided the contract?

Is the contract considered a lien on the property that would have to be released before we could sale?

What process/s would I need to follow to void the contract?

I have no desire to leave anyone high and in this case dry by just cutting off the water but I have grown tired of paying other peoples water bill.

Your comments appreciated.

 

[STx]

What does the water company do if you don't pay your bill? You should do the same. Send a letter that they're past due and owe $xx and if not paid by a stated date, cut off their water.

 

[Gary Fowler]

What does the water company do if you don't pay your bill? You should do the same. Send a letter that they're past due and owe $xx and if not paid by a stated date, cut off their water.

I agree. They might then take you to court to get their water, but you may collect months of back dues at the time.

 

[Beltzington]

I left off a key piece of information, the "plumber" who installed the water hookups for the other properties ran one supply line down the side of the road branching off at each of the other properties. As a result I either cut everybody's water off or no ones. I would prefer to just terminate the agreement so I could put it up for sale without any baggage for the new owner. I guess sending out a letter of intent and seeing who responds is where to start.

 

[turnkey4099]

I left off a key piece of information, the "plumber" who installed the water hookups for the other properties ran one supply line down the side of the road branching off at each of the other properties. As a result I either cut everybody's water off or no ones. I would prefer to just terminate the agreement so I could put it up for sale without any baggage for the new owner. I guess sending out a letter of intent and seeing who responds is where to start.

You need to talk to a real estate type lawyer for accurate answers.

When I bought this 2 acres it was on a community well, 5 places at athat time with 3 abandoned. That left me and an old widow - well on her property. Then she sold out. I knew a little about wells, buyers didn't. I became the ipso facto maintenance man...then the maintenance man and guy who got to also pay for all the repairs. I finally drilled my own well but did maintain the interconnect to the community one. That has worked well, neighbor now pays her own maintenance and we both have a backup. Both of us have had to use that interconnect. Nice!!

 

[TheMan419]

I would see an attorney. The contract should specify what happens when someone does not pay. The problem you have is there is one person keeping up their end of the contract. You may be able to terminate the others, but not that one.

Without seeing the language in the contract it would be impossible to give advice. Also sending a letter that you will terminate if they do not pay might be a bad idea. They might start paying. It sounds like what you want is to terminate the contract. If they have already breached by not paying that may give you the right to terminate. Do not let them have the opportunity to cure their breach if you do not have to.

Seek competent legal advice pronto.