Trying to figure out what's a feasible offer for the two houses we like best, based on our budget and anticipated repair/maintenance/tax costs. Reading a ton of research about old houses and maintenance issues. (That part is not so much fun. Ah well.) Found a lawyer and an inspector. E-mailed a Redfin agent to hopefully represent us for the purchase. (We considered representing ourselves, but decided we weren't quite comfortable with our competence in that regard.) Wondering if it's at all plausible that on the Mad Hatter house, the utilities are only an average of $400/month for electric and gas, as they claim. (Various friends had been telling us to estimate closer to $1000/month.)
Mostly, we're biding our time here today, trying to be patient as we wait for our buyers to send us the inspection report and their response to it. This is a miserable process, but with any luck, we won't have to do it again for at least twenty to thirty years. If ever.
I’ll say it again:
>Have you seen a few years of utility bills for
>each house?
Unless there’s been some SEEERIOUS weatherization, I can’t see how that place will have average bills under $700.
Yah, I just don’t know. We asked them again, and asked to be sure that the average was not just for the last few months, but for at least a year, and the realtor gave us the same response, with supposedly the numbers they got for average bills from the actual utility companies. Unless they’re flat out lying to us, which seems unlikely?
You can call the utility company yourself, give the address, and ask for an average for the past year. You can ask how much the charge/usage was each month for the last 12 months, as well.
Our inspector actually recommended this, so we tried it, and yes, the numbers were accurate. Wacky! Maybe they never use their heat or AC!