Q: Texas shared well agreement.
We are financing our home through an estate trust. The deceased previous owner signed a shared well agreement with the previously owned neighbors lot. Under this agreement the neighbors have to pay a monthly fee for water and share in any repair bills for the well. It also says if the neighbors move in full time, the agreement will be renegotiated. We were handed a copy of this agreement at closing on the house. Our names are not on this agreement. The neighbors have never paid us a dime and have moved in fulltime. Do we have to honor this agreement? Can we shut the water off? Our worry is they will run the well dry. We called the county and they stated its illegal. However the agreement is filed with the county.
A: Without looking at the agreement, it's hard to tell, but this sounds like an agreement that runs with the land, so you're bound even if you did not sign it. I suggest you start sending your neighbors bills for the water usage, and negotiating an appropriate rate for their usage, rather than trying to shut off the water.
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