Only thing I take from the seller is the actual utility bills. 

Policies can differ on how they value a building after the loss (Replacement cost, Actual Cash Value, and Agreed Value are the common forms).  

The daughter was in an argument with her brother the other day and apparently is refusing to leave.He has also had the utilities shut off so shes there with no utilities I think.

All utils are in tenants names, and rent rolls indicate they're decent, blue collar tenants.I offered $120K cash.

It's a low income area and big houses have high utility costs. 

Is this common?

So I don't think he was trying to be sneaky.Is this common to price this way?

Is it common to give experienced developers such a premium for their sweat equity?

This is just my experience with HELOCs, I’m not licensed to give any kind of financial advice, check with your accountant or financial advisor to ensure you are utilizing the correct financial products to reach your goals.

Don't get caught in the trap of not wanting to hurt your cash flow, when that equity could be better utilized to generate more cash flow in a safely leveraged additional investment with all the other associated benefits of owning more property(loan pay down, depreciation, chance for appreciation, etc.).