Water shut off for part of year

[marksteph]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Missouri, Sunrise Beach in Morgan County

Earlier this summer we purchased a vacation property at Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri. The house is supplied water from a well and supply system owned and maintained by the subdivision Homeowners Association. We were just informed that the water system is shut off from approximately Thanks Giving through Easter each year. We were not informed of this policy before our purchase. In all the documents we have (MLS Listing, Seller’s Disclosure, Sales Contract, Subdivision Declaration of Restrictions, etc) we can find no mention of this policy.

In this area it is not uncommon that in older (20+ years old) developments that the water may be shut off for portions of the year. I recall asking our Buyers Agent who was assisting us in our property search to find out if this property had year round water. We made this inquiry about all the properties we were interested in. He recalls asking the Seller’s agent (who I assume asked the Seller) about it. The answer we got back was that some properties had the water shut off and some stayed on because they were on a different supply system. The property we were interested in (and subsequently purchased) was one of the ones that stayed on. Unfortunately this particular question was handled over the phone and there are no written or electronic records to verify what was said and when.

We may well not have purchase this property had we known of this before hand, and we certainly would have lowered our offer had we known. We feel this issue will negatively impact our ability to resale the property. It also virtually eliminates our use and enjoyment of the property for nearly a third of the year.

What recourse do we have?What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

[HomeGuru]

Originally Posted by marksteph

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Missouri, Sunrise Beach in Morgan County

Earlier this summer we purchased a vacation property at Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri. The house is supplied water from a well and supply system owned and maintained by the subdivision Homeowners Association. We were just informed that the water system is shut off from approximately Thanks Giving through Easter each year. We were not informed of this policy before our purchase. In all the documents we have (MLS Listing, Seller’s Disclosure, Sales Contract, Subdivision Declaration of Restrictions, etc) we can find no mention of this policy.

In this area it is not uncommon that in older (20+ years old) developments that the water may be shut off for portions of the year. I recall asking our Buyers Agent who was assisting us in our property search to find out if this property had year round water. We made this inquiry about all the properties we were interested in. He recalls asking the Seller’s agent (who I assume asked the Seller) about it. The answer we got back was that some properties had the water shut off and some stayed on because they were on a different supply system. The property we were interested in (and subsequently purchased) was one of the ones that stayed on. Unfortunately this particular question was handled over the phone and there are no written or electronic records to verify what was said and when.

We may well not have purchase this property had we known of this before hand, and we certainly would have lowered our offer had we known. We feel this issue will negatively impact our ability to resale the property. It also virtually eliminates our use and enjoyment of the property for nearly a third of the year.

What recourse do we have?What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

**A: you have no recourse as you were supplied with the information that you requested.
Had you asked specifically about the water shut off for the particular home you bought and were given the incorrect answer, then you might have a claim.

[xylene]

Originally Posted by marksteph

The house is supplied water from a well and supply system owned and maintained by the subdivision Homeowners Association.

You know a member of the association, yes?

Find other members who would like year round service and agitate.

It is very possible too that the system is not winterized and may involve costs to produce year round water.

[marksteph]

I am confused by your answer.

I did specifically ask if the house in question had water supplied year round. And the answer was; Yes, it does have water supplied to it all year.

Even if I had not asked about the water supply is the seller not required to reveal that the water supply is “seasonal”?

[HomeGuru]

Originally Posted by marksteph

I am confused by your answer.

I did specifically ask if the house in question had water supplied year round. And the answer was; Yes, it does have water supplied to it all year.

Even if I had not asked about the water supply is the seller not required to reveal that the water supply is “seasonal”?

**A: read your Seller real property disclosure statement.

[marksteph]

I have.

The section about water supply is very short.

It states that the water System/Source is a community well.

There is nothing about it being shut off for 1/3 of the year.

[HomeGuru]

Originally Posted by marksteph

I have.

The section about water supply is very short.

It states that the water System/Source is a community well.

There is nothing about it being shut off for 1/3 of the year.

**A: then you should have asked for clarification in writing and the Seller should have disclosed the shut off issues.