Found a water leak in the basement of my rental property

[Marc Shin]

I bought my first rental property in October and did a full home inspection.  I live out of state from the property, and I'm finding out now that there's a main water line leak either underneath the basement floor or it's outside between the curb and the water meter in the basement.  I see no signs of the water leak other than when I shut off the main valve I can still hear water rushing into the unit.   The water company shut off the water and told me I needed to fix the issue before they can turn it back on again.  The water meter was found not to be working which is why my water bill was not very high since the time I bought the property.   I'm wondering if the seller knew about this water leak issue and purposely broke the water meter before selling the property to me.  Do I have any recourse at this point in time?  I've been told that I would need to prove that the seller knew about the water leak prior to the sale, and that would be hard for me to prove, unless I maybe can get the water company technician to testify that the water meter had been broken on purpose.   This repair will be either under $1K (if the leak is underneath the slab) or $10K if the leak is outside the home.  Any suggestions on what I can do at this point?

[Chris Seveney]

Quote from @Marc Shin:

I bought my first rental property in October and did a full home inspection.  I live out of state from the property, and I'm finding out now that there's a main water line leak either underneath the basement floor or it's outside between the curb and the water meter in the basement.  I see no signs of the water leak other than when I shut off the main valve I can still hear water rushing into the unit.   The water company shut off the water and told me I needed to fix the issue before they can turn it back on again.  The water meter was found not to be working which is why my water bill was not very high since the time I bought the property.   I'm wondering if the seller knew about this water leak issue and purposely broke the water meter before selling the property to me.  Do I have any recourse at this point in time?  I've been told that I would need to prove that the seller knew about the water leak prior to the sale, and that would be hard for me to prove, unless I maybe can get the water company technician to testify that the water meter had been broken on purpose.   This repair will be either under $1K (if the leak is underneath the slab) or $10K if the leak is outside the home.  Any suggestions on what I can do at this point?

 You will spend more going after the seller and could lose so its part of owning a home. Some people get insurance from the street to property for water and sewer. Something to consider on other properties.