Neighbor is using my well, it's not in my deed that they have a right to it. If it's on their deed, do they?
I bought the house last year. We were not told that the neighbor was using the well on my property. They obviously are not well off so we never pushed the issue. Their property is too small to put a well on because it would be too close to the septic. We have since had to replace a well pump. They claimed they would when they have it but never gave us money towards that or the electricity we are paying to pump their water. This has really been a non issue until over the weekend they hung a deer from their tree, directly in front of my house/along side my driveway... And proceeded to butcher it. The blood is now in my yard. I'm a huge animal lover, I became a vegetarian as a child. I cannot describe the reaction I had to this. Couldn't sleep/eat. They weren't even quick about it, it was left up overnight. There are packs of coyote, bobcats and bear around these woods. I spoke to them and let them know how much this upset me. I kindly asked if he could find somewhere else to do this. A friend's, family property I know they have, put up a shed, do it in the woods. Anywhere but in the open literally in front of my house. He does not have that kindness, he said he'd 'try not to' It has been out of the kindness of my heart he has water, and he can't repay that kindness? A lawyer looked at my deed and they have no right of way to my well. Could his deed change this? I can't look it up right now because covid everything is closed. If he hangs a deer again I want to turn his water off
Anonymous2020-11-30T17:55:10Z
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Just make sure there is not a separate "attached" easement mentioned in the description on your deed. I bought a house and no one told me it has a "Quit Claim Deed-Statutory Form" containing a sewer/water easement for the house behind me. It's an attachment mentioned in the house deed and was filed completely separately from the actual deed.Have had nothing but problems because of it and am planning on trying to get the easement vacated.
If the well is on your property and there is no easement, you can do what you wish with the well. No, his deed will give him no rights, he doesn't own the well property.
There is absolutely no scenario where you're going to get away with cutting off water to a neighbor as petty revenge for them (presumably) lawfully hunting and harvesting a deer.
Water rights and well share agreements are often documented on the property records or in neighborhood covenants but not necessarily written on the deed. They may also be governed by state laws and not show up directly on the property records at all. But these rules and rights are still very much legally enforceable regardless of the manner in which they're documented. It is very common for multiple properties to be serviced by a single well, and the owner of the property where the well is located does not have some sort of superior claim to the well.
The bottom line is that shutting off your neighbor's water would be a huge mistake. You'll start a feud and end any chance of living peacefully next to them. They'll probably take you to court and win an emergency injunction ordering you to turn the water back on and leave it on. If you violate the judges orders on this matter you can be arrested and thrown in jail for contempt of court. Furthermore the neighbor could successfully sue you to recover their legal expenses.
As for your attorney - what did they actually check. As I said before water rights are typically listed on the deed, but often found elsewhere in the property records or applicable laws. A well doesn't necessarily require access, so its entirely possible there's no access easement granting them the right to come onto your property - but that's different than having the right to use water from the well.
If you spent money on a new pump and the neighbor hasn't paid their share then you can take them to court and show the applicable information to a judge to get a legal ruling on whether or not they must pay, and if so you will get an enforceable judgement against them.
You can also address the issue of the pump being connected to your electric meter - perhaps the court will order the neighbor to pay you a fixed amount on a recurring basis to cover the approximate cost of electricity for the pump. Make sure you go in prepared with valid information about how much power the pump consumes and how much that actually costs each month. In some cases a shared well can be equipped with a separate power meter and the bill is shared among all households on that well.
All of this is completely separate from your choice to be vegetarian and their choice to hunt and butcher an animal. About 95% of the population of the USA eats meat. You have every right to be vegetarian but you don't get to control other people. If you believe their hunting & butchering methods violate the law then call the game warden. If you just don't like it then you can ask them to hang the next deer in the back yard out of sight, but they don't have to comply. And you certainly don't get to just shut off their water because you don't like it.
The sharing of the well will not show up in the deed unless there's an easement for it. It won't appear on a survey either unless there is an easement.
Things like easements and water rights are not always printed on deeds. That doesn't mean they don't exist.
Just curious...would you build a home on a piece of property that had no legal access to water? Would you think the county would approve such a building plan?
Their use of the well was probably established whenever the house was built.
"We were not told that the neighbor was using the well on my property." Did the seller lie on the disclosure form or was the question simply not asked? Two different things. You had opportunity to inspect the well before purchasing.
A title search on both properties may reveal more information. Your attorney doesn't sound too on top of things.