All Forum Posts by: Andy Kolb

Update:  No it's not a drug house.  I have been there a few times.  They are good guys in general.  So the water usage only spiked for 2 months, June and July, and then dropped back to normal after, in August.  They didn't call me until September.  So I did more than my due dilegence and had a plumber and a sprinkler professional evaluate everything.  I'm handy and do all my own work but in this case I cannot say I am a "professional" so I'm doing a CYA.  We know the clerk at the water department and she said they kept calling saying it was the water department's problem.  I still think they left the water on somewhere while they were out of the country.  So to close this, I wrote a letter with the time line and all of the work that was done and if they wouldn't share all of their water usage history with me, there is nothing more I can do.  So no, I didn't help them with the bill and they finally thanked me for my effort to find the issue.  Overall, I wasted a few hours and a few hundred dollars on inspections but now we are both satiesfied there are no leaks in the house.  Thanks for everyone's advice.  

 I visit the house routinely and just did a walk through and everything is normal.  I'm from Los Angeles so I know about indoor growing. :)

 Thanks, I didn't know that.  

 Haha, didn't think of that one.  

 We replace all faucets and toilets with high quality ones just before they leased the house although I have asked them to let me know if they do have noticed any leaking.  But as I mentioned, I looked at the meter for an hour and it wasn't moving.  I plan on going over again this weekend to re-inspect just to make sure.  

 The tenant is responsible for all utilities as is stated in the lease agreement.  I'm just making sure I'm not liable beyond making necessary repairs.  My post here is part of me doing my due diligence just in case I have missed something in my thought process or legally.  Thanks for your reply.

 Thanks for the suggestion.  Did the water company charge for this service?

 They were in Europe for a month they claim. They are young and do not even know how to turn the water off at the main or even inspect and tell me if there is a leak.  He's starting to tell me little white lies and get defensive which leads me to believe he knows he doesn't have a case.  He tells me he and his brother are smart and we don't need to micromanage them.  I guess me showing him how to shut off the water to the sprinklers and tell him to download the manual for the sprinkler controller is micromanaging.  I've asked them a few time if they were sure they turned the water off to the sprinklers and if they had turned the sprinkler controller off and he gives me the same attitude.  He sends me a photo of water in front of the house and I ask if he turned the sprinklers off as I asked so we could troubleshoot and he tells me it is.  I go over to the house and find nothing is turned off.  So we turn the sprinklers off and the street dries up.  He is just being lazy and seems to have a sense of entitlement.  Me being new, I'm trying to be cautions and not spend money where I don't have to but also trying to make sure he has no recourse.  They pay on time and other than this, they have been good tenants.  

 Thanks, that is my feeling to but even this post is me trying to do my due diligence.  This is clay soil around here so it usually is hard as a rock.  It is my plan to check the next bill.  I think the bill was around $480 for the 64k gallons.  Not big money, it is just the principle and I'm trying to get them to do there part as a tenant and take some responsibility.

 Hard to know, this was a hot summer.  The previous owners of the house said they didn't think the neighbors would do that but you never know.