On Sunday, September 13, 2015 at 12:04:50 PM UTC-4, taxed and spent wrote:
"Unquestionably Confused" wrote in message
...
On 9/13/2015 8:49 AM, trader_4 wrote:
On Sunday, September 13, 2015 at 9:11:00 AM UTC-4, Mayayana wrote:
You should be talking to her, not to us. We
don't even know what you pay for electricity.
$250/month? More? Less?
Where I live $50/month
for what you describe seems very high.

If it's just the operating costs, I agree. But who pays
if the pump needs to be replaced? The well stops producing?
The sprinkler system needs maintenance? If all those are
treated as split costs if and when they occur, then $50
a month for electric to run what's on that list does sound
like a lot of money. I would also hope the electric heater
is just keeping the temp reasonably above freezing.
I wouldn't think the total operating cost for both units
is $50 a month, except maybe in the coldest winter months
when the electric heater is running.

Killawatt thing would solve it, but you'd have to do some
temporary rewiring to get those loads on it and probably have
to do them one at a time. The sprinkler system controller
is negligible, the well pump part of that is what matters.

Interesting that this was in place and nothing in the closing
documents address how it's going to be handled? It's just
a very bad arrangement. Even if it's spelled out, it's still
ripe for trouble, as he's learned.

Plus 1 - In an arrangement such as this ALL expenses need to be
calculated. Some may be fixed (heat to prevent freezing in that room)
others will be variable, e.g amount of water pumped for the unit with 3+
vs. your unit, etc.

You say you need legal advice and I would agree. Problem is you won't get
it here. Contact an attorney NOW, before you do anything else, and get
his/her advice. Do NOT disconnect the neighbor without checking first
with the attorney.

Expense? Sure but the MOST expensive question you can ask your attorney
is "Did I do the right thing?" Chances are great that the answer is "No!"
and the remedy will cost you far more than the advice going into this
would have cost.



Save some money.

Look at the property documents to see what if anything it says. The most it
will say is the well is shared and expenses will be shared. It won't have a
dollar amount.

Do the proper analysis. Put a kw meter on and keep track for a month. Try
to figure how much each household uses. Do the math. Get with your
neighbor and come to an agreement. Or sue in small claims court, using your
figures.

Note: cost will vary over the year. In winter, less water used, more
heating to prevent freezing.

Maintenance will be a bigger problem, down the road.

Why go to a lawyer before you have done these things?

I agree, I'd try to work it out. The neighbor asking for a killawatt
measurement isn't totally unreasonable. I took it like you did, that
it could be used to take some measurements for a few months, not long
term. But even that would require some rewiring to do and since the
thing is in his unit, would the neighbor believe and accept the results?
When it's at the point where she's stopped paying altogether, it's not
good......

I'd be curious on the history of this, how it came to be, etc.