It backs up to a hospital, has a massive back yard, and has a two car garage.

You deserve to be compensated.  

During this time I did not have any utilities turned on, and when I called to have the water turned on today, I was told there was a charge of close to $500 as a service fee going back to when I purchased the home in March 2024.

I think that matters more than absolute dollar amount and here's a theoretical example to show why:Let's say I have $200k to invest.

The previous owner actually offered it to the tenant, which in turn, they reached out to me.

Welcome to the community!

Didn't want him to become my competition!

That's worth a nice fee to the guy who brought it to me

@Chani Walker can guarantee you can find someone cheaper, but then which services do you want to give up and which do you want to accept less service on?

My goal is to create financial security for retirement.