Illegal sewer hookup on rental property

[Robin Secord]

Let me start with a little history. We purchased this property in Indianapolis through a turn key provider. The turn key company purchased this property through a tax sale. We funded the flip and then they have taken over management of the property.

It was recently discovered that the house and 4 of the neighbors were illegally hooked up to the city sewer. Now we are left holding $8,000+ in bills!

Has anybody ever heard of something like this before? Any advice or experience you can offer would be great.

[Ross Denman]

Are the $8,000 in fines from the city or back sewer bills from the utility company? If they are bills, I would contact the utility company and ensure that everything is in order now and there is a good possibility that they may abate some, if not all, of the bill. If it is a fine, the city will likely take the same course. Check with your PM to see if they have any contacts that they work with... they may be able to offer you some direction regarding the matter.

Since several homes on the block are dealing with the same issue, it is likely that the same contract service did all of the homes. You may have your PM check with some of the neighbors (if they are home owners especially) and find out who did the work. If you can locate them, you may be able to find out for sure if they pulled permits or had the proper authorization or not. If they did not, you may be able to file a civil suit against them that might be covered by their liability insurance.