Headache Turning on/off utilities During Inspection Period

[Victor N.]

I have a contract on a 2 family. I usually do the inspection myself but this time decided to pay a professional. No problem here. My problem is with the utility companies. Here in CT it is such a pain and monumental waist of time to have the electricity and gas turn on. They give you an all day appointment ( I mean all day!) so basically you "waist" an entire day waiting for them.

The inspection took place today but i need to wait a full week for the gas to be turned off and the account is under my name with all the potential liabilities of an empty house.

Do you guys/gals have a better strategy dealing with this situation?

[Daniel Raposo]

Hi @Victor N.

While you can't fully inspect the house without the electricity or gas, you can typically get a pretty good idea of the condition of furnaces by simply looking for install/maintenance dates and general condition of the unit and any baseboard elements, or water damage on floors and ceilings. Obviously you can't tell 100% but if there is any question as to its condition just budget for complete replacement and go from there.

It's always nice to see another investor from CT, hope this helps.

Dan