I am writing to tell a little story of deception, and ask advice as to whether I have a leg to stand on if I decide to pursue the matter further.

I have recently settled on a property that is in need of significant internal renovations.  The contract of sale stated the services available to the property including the usual, water, phone etc.

I had inspected the property prior to purchase and then again just before settlement.  When I first inspected it, I turned the water on, and it worked without any problem.  On the final inspection, I turned it on again, but there was no flow.  I assumed this was due to the fact that the water was off at the mains, so thought nothing of it.

Now I have taken possession I have found that although the property has a water mains connection (out the front), there is no water running to the house.  The connection goes to a crimped pipe that looks like it was damaged many years ago.  The house was getting its water from the house next door it would seem, as prior to my purchase, it was part of a consolidated plot that has since been sub-divided.

Basically, I can only assume that when I turned the water on in the first instance, it was still connected to next door, and now, it is not.

My question is, do I have a leg to stand on if I make a complaint now I have possession.  I personally see this as a matter of deception and non-disclosure, but that is just my opinion.

I am guessing the vendor would state that "water is available to the property" as it is serviced by a mains connection.

Is this just a case of "buyer beware" again, where the buyer gets burnt?

Is there any point in me pursuing this further, or will I just be up for spending more money than it is worth?

I am understandably furious.  If I had been made aware of this issue, it would probably not have altered my decision to buy.  It is the lack of honesty that really gets me here, the total lack of moral fibre on the part of the vendor and the real-estate agents. (although I am sure that both would deny any knowledge of an issue)

 Look forward to any comments.

Great to have a forum to discuss these sort of issues by the way, thanks for setting this up.