Bills are normally $20-30/mo so this is almost 10 times normal usage and nobody was even in the house most of that time. 

The property is unoccupied and the inside water main has been off for all but 4 days of the billing period, but the bill shows 18,000 gallons of water usage in 50 days.One of the two units was occupied by 1 or 2 people in the months prior to closing, and the bills for those periods leading up to closing were for 10k-17k per period.

It was the realtors assistant that gave the inappropriate info about the owner.

If your submarket doesn't fully support RUBS I still think it's a good idea to consider lowering rents and implementing it because tenants that are forced to think about their water and electricity usage tend to use less of it.

Under these circumstances would you expect the electricity usage for the well to be around $10 or $100.

Can we just start charging the tenants based on historical average usage (by adding a clause to the lease)?

Can we just start charging the tenants based on historical average usage (by adding a clause to the lease)?

If it is free (you are paying), then there is no incentive to keep usage under control.  

The fact that buyers, who are also borrowers, use the bank appraisal, quite inappropriately, does not concern the bank.

So when you see one of us say “consult your tax pro” or “you should get a CPA involved”, we are not soliciting for service, we are both protecting ourselves and trying to protect you as well.Hope this shines a light on part of the discussions.The "Minimal Use Rule" is for people who have dual usage, personal and rental.