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I am in negotiations on a short sale listed for 150000 offered 145000 seller came back 150000 saying one bank already approved that amount. My realtor comps say the house is worth 172000 she sent me a short email with 4 houses address and amount that it sold for. I thought I would receive a comparison with pictures more info on the houses not sure if that is normal Zillow said the house is worth 149000.
The seller also wants me to get the utilities on for inspection elect, gas and water. Does any one have any ideal of the amount I am looking at. The house is in Suffolk VA and I would have to have the utilities turned on for the appraisal to. Thank you in advance for your replies
Should you? That is 100% up to you. How devastated would you be if one of those systems needed to be repaired? In some homes it IS a really big deal (limited access, like homes built on-slab with utilities running through the concrete), others it's nothing at all to worry about *IF* you are capable and willing to resolve issues yourself (or willing to spend the money on hiring a contractor).
The Fannie Mae home I just bought had power on and I didn't bother with gas or water. It bit me a little as I learned that the hot water heater was damaged (someone had turned on the electric and burned out the elements). Thankfully, that was $30 and a few minutes to fix ~ not a big deal. We didn't learn anything about the electrical system that made one bit of difference about the purchase, though if the HVAC system was non-op, it may have slowed us down (but it was only 2 years old).
As for cost? Water and Gas would have cost nothing but time, about a week to get everything turned on. That pushed us outside our window for having the inspection completed. No idea on power.... but if you want Accurate numbers, you'll HAVE to call those utilities yourself and ask. What one person pays or doesn't pay will have Zero to do with what you would pay.
If this is your first house, you're not handy or just nervous, spend the money. It will be a drop in the bucket that you will only feel right now. In 6 months you'll barely remember it and in 6 years you certainly won't ~ but the inverse is not true. If you Don't spend the money and miss a BIG reason for not buying the house that's tied to the electrical/water/gas/sewer, you will Certainly be remembering that for the life of the house.
As the saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Your agent should know what the utilities charge... and if they don't..........well.............
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