Old Atlanta water lien

[Michaela G.]

Ok, I'm throwing this out more as an interesting situation to show the unexpected stuff that can happen. Since most are in different states, with different laws, this may be completely different for you than for me.  But if anyone has had this happen, please let me know how you handled:

- Am selling a property that I bought in 2009. I did get title insurance. 

- Closing attorney informs me that water dept has a $ 2400 lien from previous owner on it. 

- I contact title company, who investigates. 

- They just turned down the claim, because this lien was only filed in 2014, 5 years after I bought the property. 

- The lien is in the name of ZJ, who owned it for 1 month in 2000 and it changed hands 10 times between his and my ownership. 

I'm in contact with the city attorney, because there's also a Georgia law where a water provider can not put a lien on a property, if the property wasn't in the hands of the owner at the time the charge was occured......Since I owned it in 2014, then I shouldn't have to be responsible for a water bill of a previous owner, if they forgot for 14 years to file this lien.....

Wish me luck

[Michaela G.]

Just got the smoking gun ;-)

Copy of email by my closing agent in 2009, asking for payoff from Atlanta Watershed and response by Watershed, that there's nothing due for this property. 

If they don't back down now, I will take them to small claims court and also accuse them of willful non-compliance.