Charles Holmes recently bought a house in foreclosure only to find out the home came with a $71,000 water bill.
According to WSBTV Atlanta, after closing the deal on the home in Dekalb County, Georgia, Holmes discovered the property was disconnected from water services. The new homeowner reached out to the county to reconnect services but discovered that he could not receive any other information beyond the total bill.
To say the least, Holmes was shocked at the steep price of water.
“I had to look at it several times. I’m like, this can’t be real,” he said after receiving an email with limited details.
“There is a unpaid balance on that property and an active Lien by the county for the balance of $71,846.45. The Lien must be satisfied before service can be provided.”
Since the bill is not in Holmes’s name, he was unable to investigate further. It wasn’t until WSBTV’s investigative team reached out to the county that he began to receive answers and solutions.
“A new water account has been established for the customer, and water service will be turned on once the county has proof of completed repairs and there are no leaks,” stated an email from Dekalb County.
Holmes is uneasy about paying a bill he did not accrue. Yet, he understands buying a foreclosed home comes with complications.
In an attempt to capitalize on the rising foreclosures sweeping the nation, Holmes ran into one of the many complications.
According to Finmasters, “31,557 properties in the United States had foreclosure filings in January 2023. This was a 36% upsurge year-over-year. One in every 4,425 housing units had a foreclosure filing.”
Foreclosed homes can be great investments or allow people without access to high-end loans to own homes. Still, homebuyers should do their due diligence before signing on the dotted line.
One way to avoid Holmes’s predicament when considering whether or not to buy a foreclosed home is to complete a property title search. The goal of the search is to warn a potential homebuyer of the barriers to outright ownership or the issues with a particular property.
Homelight defines a property title search as:
“A safeguard, unraveling any possible mysteries or disputes linked to the property. Whether it’s an undisclosed heir with potential claims, an unresolved lien from a previous owner, or discrepancies in the property’s size and boundaries, the title search brings them all to light.”
Understanding the “history of a home” is integral to determining whether to invest in it.
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