When I Move Out of My Listed Home, Can I Disconnect the Utilities?
If you have your Northern Virginia home listed for sale with a Northern Virginia Real Estate Agent, chances are you have signed an NVAR (Northern Virginia Association of REALTORS®) listing agreement. As such, when the seller signs one of these listing agreements they agree to "retain full responsibility for Property, including all utilities, maintenance, physical security and liability until title to Property is transferred to purchaser."
Keeping the utilities on in a vacant home is very important. In the extreme summer and winter months, having air conditioning and heat make a home feel more comfortable, therefore allowing visitors to stay longer and take in the home. Having lights on when touring at the end of a day also makes a home more appealing. Not having either of these can really send a message you don't mean to send to a buyer. That message, simply stated is GET OUT.
Yep, if a house is too hot in the summer, too cold in the winter or just plain dark from lack of electricity, it is not going to be inviting to buyers.
That's not to say that you need to spend big bucks on heating and cooling when the home is vacant. Reasonable temperatures like 65 in the winter and 78 in the summer are comfortable without straining the wallet. And you can leave notes that lights need to be turned off prior to an agent leaving the home.
Finally, buyers that contract to buy your home will need utilities on for their inspections and the appraiser will not complete an evaluation of the property if there aren't utilities in service at the property.
Leave the utilities in service in your home when it's on the market and it's vacant. It'll make getting a buyer quicker and the contract to closing process smoother.
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