I am starting out my real estate venture by wholesaling.

If I were you I would just go and have a talk with the guy, find out if he is just cheap and thinks hes not hurting anyone or if he is broke and this is the only way he can afford power.Maybe just go and explain to the guy that what he is doing is stealing and if he doesn't stop and get the power turned on in his name you will have to take this to a more serious level.

@Curt SmithI'll make a really broad statement, if you do want to do one or two sandwich lease option deals a year it's not a big deal as far as being licensed, this is only my opinion but I think most "departments of real estate" could care less of 1 or 2 dealsThe big point I'm trying to make is if you want to do 50 to 100 of these deals a year, there's no way around not being licensed in most states because you're acting as a major business operation, there is a pattern of similar business activityAnd I've said this over and over, all it takes is for you to get a negative reputation at the department of real estate in your state which will stain your reputation from being licensed in the future; all it takes is one real estate broker to write a letter to the commission and now you've got headachesIt's prudent just to get licensed and build a business you can be proud ofA sidenote:  I think a lot of people on BiggerPockets think that if you are licensed it stops you from doing creative deals,  that's not true at all.Regarding sandwich lease options on nice houses in nice areas, Dodd Frank excludes your relationship with the owner as an investor, if your subleasing and sub optioningI think there's a great opportunity for you getting rent credits and doing creative contracts with your owner as an investor with sandwich lease options, but don't be broke and not have some reserves like 3 to 6 months in case the tenant buyer doesn't pay you when you sub option and subleaseAnother issue is be careful of who you let into the house and make sure the tenant buyers  work on their credit and save money for down payment and they truly want to be homeowners.

Give you the wherewithal to pursue and achieve your long-term goalsMany investors start off "too hot", and they either overdevelop their first property or they spend their money too fast - either of these behavior will stop you dead in your tracks, and you probably won't even be able to achieve your short-term goals - and you certainly won't have the resources to pursue your long-term goals.

Give you the wherewithal to pursue and achieve your long-term goalsMany investors start off "too hot", and they either overdevelop their first property or they spend their money too fast - either of these behavior will stop you dead in your tracks, and you probably won't even be able to achieve your short-term goals - and you certainly won't have the resources to pursue your long-term goals.

Give you the wherewithal to pursue and achieve your long-term goalsMany investors start off "too hot", and they either overdevelop their first property or they spend their money too fast - either of these behavior will stop you dead in your tracks, and you probably won't even be able to achieve your short-term goals - and you certainly won't have the resources to pursue your long-term goals.

I am also willing to partner on deals or do Joint Ventures as well.

Please stop by if your schedule permits . 

But don't let it stop you.

Stop speculating, nail down your criteria, stick to your criteria, and only buy at DEEP discounts from MOTIVATED sellers.Good luck.