Whos liable in this situation?

[Tony Pic]

why would you not fix the line ?

Yup...Don't you want to get along with your neighbors?
You just moved there .
But on the other hand... I hear you about the no info on the right of way(if any) of their water line. Was there a title search? Should that have been disclosed? Did the title company miss it?
If you fix it now, are you forever liable to repair it again?
Can it be moved off of your property so no future headaches?
If they don't move it, can you charge rent?

[Cold 1]

Talk to previous owner about any agreements? Who was there first, you or the house.

[tps7742]

I understand the concerns of all aspects of right of ways etc. Putting all that aside what type of line is it, PVC galvanized etc. There isn't a quick fix for the line until you can get back from your trip and then sit down with your neighbors and try to work it out?

[Landrover]

Liable? Sometimes in this short LIFE of ours it is just much easier to be a good neighbor!
Edit: Others already beat me to that conclusion. Good luck.

[RutnBuk]

Yup...Don't you want to get along with your neighbors?
You just moved there .
But on the other hand... I hear you about the no info on the right of way(if any) of their water line. Was there a title search? Should that have been disclosed? Did the title company miss it?
If you fix it now, are you forever liable to repair it again?
Can it be moved off of your property so no future headaches?
If they don't move it, can you charge rent?

These people haven't wanted to get along with me since day 1. We share 1500' of land with no fence and they told me to go to hell when I asked to have a fence put up and we can split cost. They said they dont need a fence. Yes there was a title search. No the title company did not miss it. The water company told me it was unrecorded. I offered to split cost to have it moved to their property line and they declined. No idea about rent.

[RutnBuk]

Talk to previous owner about any agreements? Who was there first, you or the house.

Previous owner is the person that did this and hes dead.

[ladrones]

These people haven't wanted to get along with me since day 1. We share 1500' of land with no fence and they told me to go to hell when I asked to have a fence put up and we can split cost. They said they dont need a fence. Yes there was a title search. No the title company did not miss it. The water company told me it was unrecorded. I offered to split cost to have it moved to their property line and they declined. No idea about rent.

Renegotiate the fence now that you control the access to water. Make them become good neighbors.

[BTLowry]

Sounds to me like at some point one person owned all the land. Ran water for livestock. Then later sold it off in smaller parts and nobody knew water line was there

Of course I would know where my meter was

Thinking you are responsible even though you had no clue it was there

My best advice is to fix it and seek legal advice (somewhere other than TBH )

[texasair]

Unfortunately, if you are not a local, you will be working at a disadvantage
with everyone involved. The neighbor, law enforcement, the water company, local judges.

If you do not fix it, you could get a bill for thousands of dollars for water usage
and they may enforce that bill in a local court.

I would at least cap it or drive a plug in the line to stop the water loss while you figure out how to handle the rest of the situation.

[shark79]

Coming from a rural water company. The meter is in the bar ditch under years of grass. I had no idea what I hit and had no idea where to turn it off at.

Sounds like your neighbor needs to contact the water company to purchase an easement or re-route the line off your property.

[oktx]

Your water line on my property, that was not marked or on the plat and you didn't think was important enough to tell me? Don't know about that.

[The Crippler]

Renegotiate the fence now that you control the access to water. Make them become good neighbors.

I don't know all the facts so I can't give you a solid legal opinion, but this is a good idea. You control water, based on the facts given they have no legal recourse as they were trespassing, so come to a mutually beneficial agreement. If they don't want to play ball, they can go pound sand. When you bought this property, was a new survey rendered?

[RutnBuk]

Sounds to me like at some point one person owned all the land. Ran water for livestock. Then later sold it off in smaller parts and nobody knew water line was there

Of course I would know where my meter was

Thinking you are responsible even though you had no clue it was there

My best advice is to fix it and seek legal advice (somewhere other than TBH )

Yep. He had 90 acres. I bought 85 and the other is 5. This is not my meter. This meter is from a county road at the back of my property. My meter is on opposite side of property.

[RutnBuk]

Sounds like your neighbor needs to contact the water company to purchase an easement or re-route the line off your property.

Like I said earlier, I offered them to take new waterline to their property and have their meter moved to their land. They declined. I offered to split that cost.

[ABroussard]

Cap it. I would have to think they would start wanting to negotiate other options and work with you after a day or two with no water.