A job transfer brought the Rodriguez family to Cape Coral in last year.
“We fell in love with the house; we really did,” Marlen Rodriguez said.
They closed on their canal front property in July 2020 — no issues, no liens on the property. Then, seven months later, in February 2021, the family says they got a letter from the city saying a balance from the previous owner’s utility bill was transferred to their account and past due.
“Oh, my gosh, this is a lot of money,” Rodriguez said. “A lot of money that we did not use at all.”
It was a balance of $260 from bills dated April to June of 2020. On top of that, the city is charging the family late fees.