Purchaser Of Recently Foreclosed Home 'Inherits' Unwanted Surprise As Prior Owner's Unpaid Water Bill Leaves Buyer All Wet, Hosed For $1,800

In Tequesta, Florida, WPTV-TV Channel 5 reports:

• A telephone call to a local utility provider may have spared a home buyer the responsibility of a nearly $1,800 water bill, housing counselors said.
  
  Linda Albrecht purchased an HOA foreclosure [...] in Tequesta earlier this year. She discovered she was responsible for the previous owner's water bill when she asked the utility to transfer the account to her. "They say I must pay it," Albrecht said. "They won't turn the water on until I pay that bill."
  
  According to housing counselors, home buyers are made responsible for outstanding fees and bills -- unless they learn of them before they purchase a home and are able to negotiate with the seller.
  
  "Without that due diligence, you are stuck in a position where you take title subject to everything of record," said Paul Krasker, founder of the Paul A. Krasker Law Firm. "Anything that can still be of record that wasn't wiped out in the foreclosure is what you're going to take title subject to."

For the story, see Impact 5: Home buyer gets more than she bargained for with purchase of foreclosure.