I should follow up that maybe FGUA isn't considered private, it may be quasi-qovermental.

Hi Nelson.

Yes good question, and it is not common that utility bill liens ends up in a foreclosure. If not, then banks would be forced to include utility bills into their escrow payments in a mortgage...

Most of the time, city or county utilities like water, sewer, and code enforcement stick to the property and survive a tax deed sale. Purely private services like FPL, internet, or cable don’t, those are just private bills and don’t follow the house. The gray area is when a city or county lets a private company run the service under a concession. If there’s a local ordinance saying those charges are collected like municipal liens, then they can survive just like city water would. If it’s just a private provider with no ordinance backing, it usually won’t. Best move is always to check the local code where the property sits before bidding.

That said, keep in mind Florida has a 5-year statute of limitations, so any utility debt older than that gets wiped out. Realistically, even if the water bill is behind, you’re not looking at a crazy number, I can’t imagine it climbing much beyond $7–8k. It’s definitely something to factor into your numbers, but not the kind of debt that usually makes or breaks a deal.

I found this opinion by Ashley Moody (basically the most official you can get) on this as well https://www.myfloridalegal.com/ag-opinions/perfecting-and-enforcing-local-government-liens

This seems to imply the lein lasts for 20 years, but is only forecloseable for 5 years. Is that how you understand it too? Because they are asking me to pay to turn the water on.

Turns out FGUA was created by Florida Statute and considered a governemnt. $135 turned into nearly $11k in 9 years. All this over someone's single missed bill. That is about a 65% interest rate compounded anually.

Obviouslly I will just fix the well for less money and have no monthly bill.

You’ve got to separate two things: the life of the lien itself and how much of the debt they can actually enforce. The lien can sit on the property for up to 20 years, and then on year 21 it dies automatically. At that point, it’s gone as a cloud on the title and nobody can collect a dime. But the statute of limitations cuts down what they can demand inside that 20-year window. They can only come after you for the most recent 5 years of delinquent charges. Anything older than 5 years is wiped out, even though the lien is still technically attached.

Now about that “65% interest” you mentioned, that looks way out of line and definitely open to challenge. Utilities in Florida can’t just invent numbers; they have to stick to what’s written in their tariff, ordinance, or service contract. If FGUA’s rules don’t specifically authorize compounding at that rate, a court could say it’s not compensating them for late payments anymore, it’s punishing you. And while usury laws don’t usually apply to government entities, that doesn’t mean they get a blank check. A judge could still throw out the excessive part and limit it to something reasonable.

I’m not suggesting court litigation, but if you press firmly with well-grounded legal letters, they’ll usually be more willing to negotiate, give you big discounts, and settle it out without dragging things into court, which we all know is lengthy, tedious, and expensive, and meanwhile keeps you from being able to sell the property.

I haven't recieved a fee breakdown, but 65% compounded annually is how to get from $135 to $11k in 11 years. I will request a detailed breakdown and then decide to get the fee reduced or fix the well.