Bought House - Undisclosed Plumbing Issues = High Water Bill

[Dennis Kronenwetter]

Hello BP Community,

I closed on my first rental property about a month ago. The house was sold by a flipping company. Everything was great and exciting at the beginning - and then....

After buying the washer and dryer for the home I tested the washer out by running a cycle. When the water started to drain I quickly realized the down pipe was clogged about 3 feet down causing water to shoot back out like the Bellagio water show in Vegas. I tried fixing myself but quickly realized it was clogged with dried up dirt/mud. I called a plumber to come out to see about repairing since I had a tenant and I did not have the time that week with work to do myself. 

Plumber came out to say the entire plumbing system was done incorrectly and there is also constant water running through the meter (even though nothing was turned on in the house). He was unable to find the home shutoff valve to determine if it was the mainline under yard or under the house leaking. This was about a week ago and I have now received Charlotte, NC Water bill showing ~39,000 gallons of water for a awesome value of $550. Plumber said it would be roughly $4300 to replace plumbing under the house and $1300 to repair mainline (if that is leaking).

BP, has anyone run into this situation before? Can I hold the flippers/sellers accountable? I have Charlotte Water investigating to hopefully forgive the high bill. I am betting this seller knew of the water issues and checked "no representation" on the disclosure forms. 

Thanks for any advice!

[Ryan Clark]

@Matt P. At the very least, the inspector should have noticed the meter running with nothing on. That is a basic part of inspection. That is how you determine if there is an unknown leak somewhere.