My husband and I found our dream home. It was a foreclosure property in a very nice area. All of the homes in the area were originally owned as a group. The lady who owned them tried to turn it into a corporate retreat center and failed miserably. So the house isn't your typical foreclosure. It is in awesome shape. I have researched this house to an incredible extent and was even able to talk to the original builder of the house. The original part of the home was built in the 1800s and then it had an addition built in 1986. We outbid 3 other competitors on the home and have already been contacted by some asking us to sell it to them! We are currently under contract and our mortgage company completed their appraisal. We have been waiting on someone to get the water turned on to the house. My problem is that they haven't been able to do this. The water is on a shared well and we know where the well house is. We brought a plumber out to the area and we know that we will have to reconnect a pipe in the bathroom before they turn on the water but we have been getting the run around. My REA says that there are people who are coming out to hunt for the place to turn on the water to the house and kind of scared us by saying that it may be impossible to get the water turned on. She thinks that the water shut off may be located in this castle for sale across the street! She said that the seller (bank) may lower the price of the home so that we would have $ to get our own well on the property. I just don't believe that. Wouldn't that entail another another opportunity for a bidding war to commence on this house? Also, since this house was the first in the area since it was originally built in the 1800s wouldn't that mean that they would have already had water? Nobody lives on this particular street, there are several properties that are slowly selling since they were foreclosed just last year but no one has moved in. I don't know what to do. I love this house and truly do not want to back out but I want to make sure that water won't be a problem. We don't have a lot of money to spend on attorney fees. We have a closing attorney but I am not sure if he would be able to do anything about this.

If you are not happy with the home inspection you can back out
Or you can ask them to lower the price by (so many dollars) to make up for the problems. They can say yes or they can say no. if they say yes, you go to closing is they say no, you just go on and look for more property

The problem though is that the house is being sold "as-is". They won't pay for any repairs for the home and we knew this signing up. Plus the house was exempt from any property disclosure and we also knew this. I mean, how can there not be any water? How could the water from an older home end up being routed-into/shut-off through another home that is newer (the castle had to have been built in the past 5-10 years). I am also worried that both REAs involved may be trying to scare me out of this so that they can try to sell it again to make a larger commission. I know that sounds very strange but we found this house and many details about it before I contacted our REA and before it was even listed with the selling agent. For some reason they put this house on the market at a very low price and they didn't know that it had a finished basement (found this out the first time our agent was able to let us inside) and that there are rare marble tiles that cover 50% of the house. After talking to the builder he said that you could take out all of the tiles and sell them and it would pay for the house. I didn't start having problems until I disclosed this to the REAs (who both work for the same company). Does this sort of thing happen? I told her that we could go into the well house ourselves with the plumber and builder and try to figure it out and they told us no. The well house is located on the same property as the castle.

First as-is is as-is. It's the buyer's responsibility to do the legwork so they know what they are buying. Sounds like you rushed into things.

Second, if you didn't formally inspect the home yourself or have an inspector do it, you're likely in for a few more surprises given the home's age and if it's been sitting empty for any length of time - termites, mold, failing old electrical insulation, lead paint, asbestos,. I could go on and on.

If the well is on another property, they are under no obligation to supply you with water and keep the equipment in good repair unless there is some sort of water rights clause in your deed. It's just naïve to think otherwise. You might be able to work out a payment arrangement with the castle owners to purchase water, but such things can be problematic. The old timers did things a lot differently than is done now and shared things. My house shares a driveway. The deed doesn't specify whether the maintenance is shared, each takes care of his half, etc.

Save yourself future headache and having ties with the neighbors that must be preserved by sucking it up and footing the cost to put in your own water supply.

First as-is is as-is. It's the buyer's responsibility to do the legwork so they know what they are buying. Sounds like you rushed into things.

Second, if you didn't formally inspect the home yourself or have an inspector do it, you're likely in for a few more surprises given the home's age and if it's been sitting empty for any length of time - termites, mold, failing old electrical insulation, lead paint, asbestos,... I could go on and on.

If the well is on another property, they are under no obligation to supply you with water and keep the equipment in good repair unless there is some sort of water rights clause in your deed. It's just naive to think otherwise. You might be able to work out a payment arrangement with the castle owners to purchase water, but such things can be problematic. The old timers did things alot differently than is done now and shared things. My house shares a driveway. The deed doesn't specify whether the maintenance is shared, each takes care of his half, etc.

Save yourself future headache and having ties with the neighbors that must be preserved by sucking it up and footing the cost to put in your own water supply.


Exactly - and even with an easement and some sort of provision for the "main house" to provide water, those easements (at least in NYS) have been being set aside as unconscionable for some time. What was a good idea and affordable for the owner of the "main house" twenty years ago is impossible now.

My parents had a very similar situation, bought a house on an estate that was broken into parcels, common well, common septic system, and they had to install their own well and septic system. Interestingly enough in their case the "main house" did not control the water and sewer, the former gardener's house did. The Court fight to get the water turned on (seemed to always be shut off "for repairs") and unblock the septic system (likewise, repairs) would have cost more than the well and their own septic - and now they have full control.

My Dad's radar went off because the price of the house was quite reasonable and it's a beautiful piece of property - and the inspector they hired caught it immediately. Also, the easements were on the title so there was no question.

You might want to go to the local building dept and look at whatever building plans they have on this entire development as they would have the info as to just where the water well is located and just how your property was getting water to it. They would have issued whatever permit was involved to get water to your home so that's a good place to start to see just HOW they accomplished the water thing in that little enclave of homes. The nice people at the building dept are always happy to help figure out something like this mystery. That's what they do for a living.