About Louisville's Cardinal Harbour

If the sellers already moved out, should they spend their scarce financial resources to keep the utilities on?

Let’s backtrack for a minute. A short sale is a dignified and financially advantageous way for homeowners to avoid foreclosure. The lender accepts an amount SHORT of the amount owed and usually forgives the shortfall. Therefore the underwater homeowner SELLS their home and doesn’t LOSE their home.

So, a successful short sale is the goal. Keeping the utilities on is a good idea because:

• It makes the house easier to sell. When potential buyers walk through the house it will be more inviting and attractive. The house will have more light, the house won’t be oppressively hot or freezing cold.
• Buyers get less concerned about hidden problems, because they can see more. It also makes the house easier to inspect, both informally by the buyers and by their formal home inspector.

• The house will be less prone to mold caused by lack of air circulation and other damage caused by extreme temperatures. Pipes can freeze and burst causing massive damage to the house.
• Flooding can occur. Some houses have sump pumps in the basement or crawl space that expel water during rain or that rises from underground. If the sump pump doesn’t have power it won’t function. Flooding can occur which can destroy basement finishes and cause mold to spread through the house.
• Mold and flooding are common problems in Louisville, KY and surrounding Jefferson, Bullitt, Oldham, Shelby, Spencer counties. These risks need to be reduced.

Keeping the Utilities On Increases the Likelihood of a Successful Short Sale

• The easier it is to get a buyer, the easier it is to get the short sale approved.
• It increases the likelihood that the house will stay in good shape. Lenders don’t always give full consideration to property damage and may get stuck on demanding more for the house than its true diminished value. That also makes it hard to get the short sale approved.

Therefore if the seller can afford to keep the utilities on it will help achieve the ultimate goal of avoiding the foreclosure.

The damaging effects of a foreclosure will far outweigh the cost of keeping the utilities on.