March 24, 2023
TO: ALL REALTORS AND CLOSING AGENTS
RE: INSTRUCTIONS FOR OBTAINING A FINAL WATER BILL
This letter serves as a helpful guideline to the commonly asked questions and issues that arise with final reading requests. Please review the following information with your associates.
- When requesting a final reading, please use the webform included below or the pdf form. You must use the most recent version of this form and it can be emailed to: customercare@scbwa.org.
- We should be notified of any closing on a property that has a change in ownership, as most will require a final reading. Because water is a lienable item, any bills for the current owner must be paid through closing in order to prevent unpaid bills from becoming liens against the property.
- Please notify our office ASAP if a closing does not go through or is postponed. Any reading that is rescheduled after the initial reading will have a fee of $45.00 added to the final bill amount for each additional reading.
- We will not schedule a final reading without the buyer’s phone number. Please include that information on the form.
- We are now requiring that exact names as they appear on the deed be provided on the reading request form.
- Any payments will not be credited based on postmark. We have a drop box available 24 hours outside our office. Payments are credited the day they are received in office. All payments should be mailed to or dropped off at our office: 1201 West Branch Road, State College, PA 16801.
- There may be occasions when a final bill includes an outstanding bill amount which has an earlier due date than the final bill. This bill will incur penalties if not paid by the original due date. If there is an outstanding bill, we will provide two final bill amounts: one without penalties and one with penalties.
- We may not be able to obtain water readings on time if final reading request is not submitted at least 2 business days prior to the requested reading date. During busy months, we will need additional time to obtain the reading. If a reading is requested without this allotted time, we will be able to provide bill amounts over the last year for escrow, and will obtain a reading on the next available business day when time permits. Any account requiring an escrow of funds will be confirmed by a phone call from SCBWA with the correct amount due. Please do not send us the escrow amount as it will be returned.
- We provide an account number to you when sending the final bill amount. Please include this entire account number with payment to ensure the amount is applied to the correct account.
These items serve as guidelines to the process required to ensure a smooth and timely transaction between our two parties for final reading requests. If you have any questions, please feel free to call our office between 8:00AM and 4:30PM Monday thru Friday at (814) 238-6766, or email us at: customercare@scbwa.org. Thank you for your time and consideration in this matter.