In eastern PA, your heat source could be gas, oil, electric, heat pump, propane or, rarely, geothermal. Your water could be public or could come from a well. You sewer could be public or you could have a septic tank. As a buyer, it’s important to know what utilities a property uses before agreeing to buy it. As far as heat goes, gas is the least expensive with propane, electric and oil costing more, but the prices vary. Ask the seller for recent utility bills, or at the least, an estimate of monthly costs. Remember, if you are buying a larger place than you currently have, you will probably have higher heating and cooling bills.
If you are looking at a property whose water is supplied by an on-site well, it should be tested both for safety of the drinking water and for the number of gallons it can provide per minute. You don’t want to not have enough water for a shower just because the dishwasher is running. Wells also often mean you’ll have a water softener and a monthly addition of salt or special chemicals to put into the supply once it comes into the house. Is the property hooked up to the public sewer? Great? No? It has a septic tank? That’s fine, assuming the inspection shows that it can handle the waste water that you’ll use without backing up and flooding the yard. Septic tanks usually last about 40 years, if they are serviced every 18 months or so, but putting a new one in can run in excess of $35,000, so you want to be sure that that kind of expense isn’t going to creep up on you a year after you buy the house.
So, while few people pay much attention to the utilities, it’s worth your while to find out about them.
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