My move-in checklist saved me $400 on a water bill surprise

I just moved into an apartment in Austin last month and thought I had everything covered. But I decided to call the utility company directly to check if the previous tenant had any unpaid bills attached to the address. Turns out there was a $400 balance from two years ago that would have landed on my account after 60 days. Has anyone else found random hidden costs tied to their new place that caught them off guard?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_charlie25d ago

So glad you caught that before it hit you. Same thing happened to me in my last apartment, I called the electric company just to set up my account and they said there was a $600 lien from three years ago that would've been my problem after 90 days. It was some random fee from the old tenant that the property manager definitely "forgot" to mention. Saved my whole deposit by making that one phone call.

daniel85725d agoMost Upvoted

Bet the property manager played dumb when you brought it up, right? Did they try to blame it on some "mix up" or just outright lie? I'm guessing they knew exactly what they were doing since those utility liens usually get passed down to whatever sucker moves in next. How'd you even find out about the lien - did the utility company just casually mention it or did you have to push for info?