I attended a General membership meeting for the Sawtooth Board of Realtors this morning. Among the many topics covered was the ongoing process of Water Right Adjudication in the State of Idaho; more specifically in the Snake River basin. None of us really knows how all these water rights will, ultimately, be effected by the adjudication, but the lesson of the day that I took home was:
As a Real Estate broker representing either a buyer or a seller, perhaps more importantly, a seller...this detail is just one more piece of discovery and disclosure that our clients will be expecting us to deal with. I'ts not enough to assume that one's water right is good. From an Agent liability standpoint and for the benefit of buyer or seller, We're going to have to be more diligent in researching and documenting any water right that runs with a piece of property. That might be as easy as requesting the documents from your seller but might be as daunting as engaging the owner of the right in the process with the State Department of Water Resources of proving the condition of the water right.
I't an easy phone call to the Department of Water Resources in Twin Falls to investigate what they have on file for your seller or buyer. 208-736-3033
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