10 High Priority Utilities You Need in a New Home

Here's the first 5 and you can get the entire list of 10 at:
http://www.connectutilities.org/blog/2011/10-high-priority-utilities-you-need-in-a-new-home/

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I’m grateful for the day of modern conveniences. I have early childhood memories of getting my homework done by lamp light or eating supper by lamp light in the winter for sure. However I have to squeeze my brain hard to remember the strain it had on my eyes. It doesn’t take long for us to get accustomed to modern conveniences and utilities.

In moving to another location, especially to another state, finding the utilities you are accustomed to, we may have to rely on a realtor or the company we work for to help us find the best for our household.

We can’t do without electricity, and this is one of the first things we want to be informed about.

1. How much the former owners paid on average, Ask the Electrical company if you have a choice of levelized billing. Meaning we pay the same amount (within a few dollars of course) each month. The statement takes an average of the past twelve months previous usage, and bills you for one twelfth of the entire year. It really works for me and makes it so much easier to do a budget using a figure that won’t vary much from month to month. If you are in the process of purchasing a home with a history of a huge electricity bill, I’d take a second look as to why. Not enough insulation, or is there several children who keep doors and lights on to cool the neighborhood?

2. Many homes do not have any appliance that needs natural gas. For those whose water heater runs from gas, or the heating unit, it would be good to have a choice. Many states are blessed to have a choice making the price competitive. This is one of those utilities (the same with electricity) we could call from our home before moving, and learn what companies are available, and what is needed up front; Like, deposit and how much, as well as if they offer levelized billing.

3. I learned quickly the name brands of Sanitation Companies, may own the biggest and best looking trucks, but the little man can offer a better price. I figure as long as they take my garbage to the dump, I don’t care what they drive. So a way to save money is to shop around (especially in the newspaper service area) and find a man who makes his living picking up the garbage. His prices are much better and again, it is a good idea to support the small business man.

4.  Many years ago, the government got involved in the Bell Telephone Company and broke it into smaller companies. Otherwise they were a monopoly and could charge anything they wanted. Today the choices are somewhat better, in that we don’t even have to have a land line unless there are circumstances that dictate otherwise. If you are one of those households that need a land line, your realtor should be able to give you a list of utility providers.

5. Whether kids are involved or not, we love our TV and what it has to offer. There are many choices to fit every budget. Making the choice that fits you should be easy enough as Direct TV, Cable Service, Satellite and other services that bring the world to your door is a fairly simple decision to make as long as you have the facts you need. Again, letting your fingers do the walking through the yellow pages should give you information to fulfill your desires for TV reception.

Read more at: http://www.connectutilities.org/blog/2011/10-high-priority-utilities-you-need-in-a-new-home/