How to check owed water bill on property in Detroit MI

[Keoni Murray]

Hey Everyone, 

I'm looking to invest in a property in Detroit MI, however, I understand that new owners have to pay the owed water bill in order to clear a property, and start moving in tenants. Does anyone know if there is a way to find out if there is a water bill that is owed on the property? Any insight anyone could provide would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance! 

[Scott M.]

Hey Keoni, a few years ago the Detroit water department put privacy rules in place that have made it very difficult for "others" to check the status/balance of water accounts. Several loop holes exist....for example for a few years there was a website that allowed you to still check but that has since been closed. 

The most common loophole today is the payment kiosks. Head to one of those and you can put in the address and get the account number. Once you have the account number you can search the .300 - .310 and even .400 - .410 accounts if you want to be really thorough. 

If you are buying a property you need to work with a title company that still cares are about water….not all do. Some will say because of the new privacy rules they exempt Detroit water from title insurance so you really have to push some title companies.

As a broker, we make it part of our standard PA that the seller will provide final real estate reads on all water accounts. Once they provide one, we can use that account number to go to the kiosks and check them all.

We also work with title companies that still take this serious.

As a broker and a property manager in SE MI including Detroit, we also have contacts within the water department that from time to time can assist. Sometimes you can get lucky when you call them as well.

All this said, they haven’t made it easy but the kiosks are your best bet along with working with brokers, property managers and title companies that work FOR YOU and take this stuff serious.