A Well that is not Well can be - well a nightmare

A well that is not well...

One of the common problems for people buying houses in rural areas is the well and water system.  Too often, someone buys a house and discovers that they need to put in a new well, costing anywhere up to $10,000.  The water smells, they stay in a hotel while the well-driller swells his wallet and drills a new well.  You can't resell without shelling out for a new well.

The first reaction is to hire a lawyer to sue the seller.  You yell to your legal personnel that the seller is a ne'er-do-well who you'd like to propel straight to hell.  Trying to win a case like this is a hard sell.  A typical agreement of purchase and sale will have a clause where the seller warrants that the well and water system have performed adequately during their occupation of the property.  The defence you will get is that the well worked well when they were there and they are not responsible for what happens after the property is sold.

You now have to prove that the well did not work well before the property sold.  That's hard to tell.  So you ask the neighbours: "How well did the well work?"  "Well, the well seemed to work well enough when they were here."  Now the anger starts to well up in you, because his answer did not bode well for your lawsuit on the well...

A seller of property does not want the trouble of putting in the warranty for the well.  On the other hand, no purchaser will buy property without that warranty.  Will a well-drafted well clause make you feel well, knowing that you are well-placed to sue the seller in case your well does not turn out as well as you hoped?

If you intend on purchasing a property with a well, make sure you listen to the warning bell going off in your brain cells.  You would be well-advised to get a well-qualified well inspector to inspect the well and related equipment.  Make your agreement of purchase and sale conditional on you being well-satisfied that the well is well.  This may cost you some money, but it is well worth the effort and cost, as litigation over a well that is not well will not be well for your pocketbook.

If your well is not well and you have to sue, there is some evidence that will help you with your case.  Pictures of mud in the sink or toilet do wonders.  In one case where I acted for the sellers, the purchaser brought in bottles of silty water.  Who knows where the water came from?  Who knows whether the mud was in the water or was added?  It didn't matter - the judge was impressed and that was the death knell of my case.

I could dwell on the topic of unwell wells well into the next week, but my inkwell is

dry...

Oh well.