Feels like a scam...

[Marco Y.]

Hello Everyone,

I just recently closed on a two family house in North Jersey that I bought from Fannie Mae. I sent in all the permits last week for the complete gut rehab I will be doing in this house.

Today I received a call from the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission (which is the agency in charge of the sewer system of several towns in New Jersey) telling me that in order for the City to complete all of the permits I had to pay a one time fee of $1,500.00.

According to the employee of the PVSC, this charge is incurred for anyone purchasing a home from a bank if you decide to renovate that home. Since the home was vacant and since the bank purchased it from the County Sheriff, the new owner who decides to renovate it is responsible for this bill.

I've never heard of this fee in my life and neither did my plumber or my attorney who I called right after speaking to the agency. What struck me as odd was that:

1) They called me instead of sending a letter or a bill first. Although after the phone call the employee did say they were sending a bill.

2) I am not doing any sewer work on this property whatsoever. And the sewer was working fine before the home became vacant.

3) Also the amount seems ridiculous especially since I dont even know what Im paying for. The employee didnt even give me a name to the fee he just described it??

As soon as I knew that It was this particular commission who was calling me it immediately raised a red flag. Some of their top level employees had been in trouble in the past for taking bribes and using employees to work on their homes in the past. And they all make a killing from tax dollars but that's another discussion

Has anyone heard of this fee before? Has anyone renovated a home that they bought from the bank and incurred a similar sewer fee?

Appreciate any feedback thanks!