I own a well which I have shared with my neighbor for 30 years or so. they are going to sell their house and the new owners want to stay connected to the well. I was wondering if anyone on here has written or knows where I can get a water well agreement. I am in the state of iowa if that makes a difference. I prefer not to involve a lawyer if possible. just something to download and fill out. basically they need to pay a monthly fee plus half of any expenses to the well itself. and what happens if they fail to pay. thanks

frank1046

 

It is great that you got along with your previous neighbor but you don't know the new one and should give yourself the protection of a legal document that would hold up in court and protect your interests.
You need to weigh the costs of a lawyer against the cost to drill a new well for yourself if your neighborly relations sour.

My next door neighbor and the neighbor on the other side of him share a well and have these details on their property titles.

 

Or rescind the sharing agreement and let them bore their own well.

 

there is no previous water agreement in writing we just paid half of the expenses for repairs and split cost of electricity.

 

I suggest ending the agreement with the closing of the neighbor's property.

Then, if you want to do a new well sharing agreement with the new neighbor, I think that you should get a lawyer. This is a subject that you cannot guess what questions might arise let alone guess the answers to those questions. Do not just write down an agreement on the back of an envelope. Download and fill out forms are only for people who already know the whole story and want to save themselves the trouble of typing it all in themselves. Those forms are not for novices.

Many folks do not hire a lawyer when buying or selling a house. The lawyer mentioned in the bank's closing papers and paid for by the buyer does not represent the buyer; he represents only the bank. A smart buyer who has any questions or doubts should hire a separate lawyer to cover such things as well agreements.

So it is possible that a lawyer rather than the buyer presents the proposal for continuing a well agreement.

Sharing always brings about sticky problems compared with not getting into sharing.
Like finding the neighbor or others or plumbers representing him going into the pump house without your permission.
Like having to go to court to get reimbursement for repairs that the neighbor agreed to share paying for and standing in line behind other creditors the neighbor got behind on.
Like having to buy bottled water also for your neighbor while methodically go about making a repair compared with frantically calling around for an emergency repair for which you may pay top dollar for.

 

Since the well is on your property, you also have some liabilities, an agreement written by you (or your attorney) would be to your advantage if it is shared.

Many states have documentation of all wells because of the problems of possibly polluting the groundwater, so the documentation is needed in case of problems. Imagine what would happen if a pipe on your property leaks and allows surface pollution into the well?? - Clean-up costs can be costly and a new deeper well may be needed if your current well is "red flagged". - Also, there could be problems if or when you go to sell.

Dick

 

Years ago I lived in a cottage by a lake. The well was shared with two other houses for three houses total running off one well. That was probably fine 30+ years ago when the cottages were truly just weekend cottages. Over the years people started living there full time and have added on extra bathrooms and laundry in the houses adding greatly to the load on the well.

When one of the houses sold the lender required that the house have it's own water supply. I choose that time to disconnect the other two houses and they each got their own well. Luckily the well was on my property.

 

I used to live in a house that shared a well. The other homeowner had drilled his own well years ago, but he had a problem with it. The piping from his basement to my well was still in place, so, without my OK he hooked back up to my well. I discovered the "bootleg" connection several years later, and removed his piping in my well. Just something to look out for- Steve

 

One other thing is how will the current neighbor react if the well is on your property and you rescind the sharing agreement. His property value will drop several thousand dollars. That assumes even if under current regulations a new well can be drilled.

However I agree sharing only sounds like a road to trouble.

 

How do you know how much electricity it uses? Does it have its own meter?

 

I ballparked the cost of electricity to run the well at 20. month so we each paid 120. annually, although it was on my electric bill and I had no problem paying it. the only time when the well would push electricity was in the old days before the bladder tanks and they would get waterlogged and kick in every time you flushed a toilet.

 

Who in their right mind would ever buy a house under the water system you guys currently have. I know I wouldn't, but I did manage to get past the 6th grade. Perhaps someone out their might buy the house but I know I would not want my neighbour to be that short of a full deck.

I would cost out the price to drill myself a new well and of course reduce the offer I would pay for the new house by about that same amount and resolve this situation once and for all. The current owner should not object because currently his house is almost worthless.

That is my opinion, anyways.

 

Discussing keeping the sharing agreement more or less the same was an easy way out for your present neighbor.

OT: Non-bladder pressure tanks do not become waterlogged that fast unless someone overdrew the well which let the system pressure drop much too low. Also if you err on the too-much side when recharging a non-bladder tank, the tank and system will rebalance itself automatically in the form of an occasional spurt of air from a faucet.

 

optseagle: kind of insulting and short minded. most people try to get along with their neighbors and drilling a well is not possible as we are now in the city and he can hook up to city water any time he feels I am unreasonable. I do not care. try to be a little more diplomatic with you responses.

 

And we have a winner! If the well is on your property and the other house has access to city water then there is the solution. It makes no sense to supply water to a stranger that may not abide by the agreement.

 

If your Neighbor's Buyers are expecting to mortgage the property, there's probably going to be an issue in that most (if not all) lending institutions (Banks, Credit Unions and Mortgage Companies) will not lend on a residential property unless it has a reliable water source . . . .meaning either a well of its own, municipal water, or a Formal Written Agreement in the Land Records. Without one of those mechanisms, it may not be marketable.

Here in Vermont, we also have laws preventing anyone from terminating a potable water supply that has been relied on for someone's primary residence . . . . such law may exist in Iowa.

Regardless, if the well is on your property, and someone wants something done differently for their convenience . . . . then they (the Neighbor or his Buyers) will have to pay for it; either the hook up to the City, a new well, or the legal costs associated with the Legal Agreement. It's not your problem; let them propose and pay for solution.

 

To the best of my knowledge, in my area if a municipal source of water exists a person MUST use it rather than a private well.

 

I agree with vermont and will do exactly that. thanks for all the input.

frank

 

Same here, locally as soon as city water becomes available they condemn the home owner's well forcing them to pay the fee to hook up to city water. Many will keep their well operation and just use it for irrigation or whatever - just not the house water supply.

 

Same here you must use city water and pay city sewer which is on the same bill.

 

Normally city water is available more places than city sewage. City sewage doesn't come anywhere near where I live but everyone in this area does have city water.

 

As a Real Estate Broker, I'm often confronted with situations where there's a conflict between the Owners of Private Wells and municipal water Systems (luckily, we don't have many).

Often, Owners will continue to utilize their private water sources, even though they're hooked up to a municipal water system because the incoming water is "metered" while the outgoing sewage is not, and the rate is based upon the costs of supplying both sewage treatment and water . . . . not just the water.

But the system doesn't know whether you're using water to wash your car or to water the lawn and garden . . . . activities which place no demand on the sewage system; and in some Towns, having an alternative water source can save a homeowner several hundred to a few thousand dollars per year (depending upon the community involved.

So, we'll often encounter a dwelling being sold which has a "contraband" supplemental water source; but mentioning it can get you in trouble with the authorities; so we might speak in code words, or guise our advertising in certain phraseology that only certain Buyers may understand. Otherwise, you're subject to being accused of contributing to their violating the local Ordinances.

 

When I lived in Seattle, almost forty years ago, the sewage charge was based upon the four months lowest water consumption. It was done this way to allow for lawn watering and the like during the summer months.

When I moved to my first owned house the sewage charge was based upon the total water consumption so no allowance for water used that did not go into the sewage system.

Here in my present house the sewage charge is a flat rate per month regardless of how much water is used. It IS, in my opinion, patently unfair. Why should I, a retired single guy living alone, pay the exact same sewage charge as a family with two working working adults and three teen-agers that are taking a minimum of five showers a day as well as running dish and clothes washers every day? They use five times as much water and contribute at least five times as much to the regional sewage treatment system but they pay the exact same amount for sewage service. Seems I am subsidizing them and I don't like it.

 

where I live you have to sign up for municipal water if build a new house. the older houses that had wells could either hook up to municipal or keep the well, one but not both. sewer was a required hookup and the city paid for the installation, although that was twenty years ago. today any hookups are paid for by the property owners. I don't pay for water but I get a flat rate on sewer , I don't know how they come up with the price, but my sewer and garbage pickup in town is in the 35. range. when you have both sewer and water, they are metered and both water and sewer have a separate charge. there are a few people that have municipal water and a well. I don't know how they managed that because I wanted to hook up to municipal when it was introduced, but was told I would have to shut down my well to do it. so I kept the well. I am glad I did because I hear a lot of the people on city water have bill's in the 100. range because of all the new subdivisions, water line installation, new sewage treatment regulations and on and on.

 

I will agree that how Vermont put it was a little more diplomatic but for someone that has lived under this situation for 30 years I felt it was important to get this point across. What Vermont said in my quote is basically my point. That house is not worth much if it doesn't have a reliable source of water. Since it is smart to ensure you try to maintain the value of your home, it kind of speaks volumes about your neighbour.

Of course the part about being able to hook up to city water anytime, that had not been mentioned before my post, will improve my opinion of him, the fact that he hasn't done it so far still speaks a little to my point.

Anyway, good luck to you and your neighbour. I hope it all works out well for you.