Frank, it is in our board contract that the seller do so because of inspections, re-inspections, and final walk-throughs.  It also would raise a huge problem if the seller moved out before the closing in the winter and turned off the heat without the having the house winterized.      FROZEN PIPES CITY!!!

i assume the home is vacant. the inspector will need to do their thing. i would keep them on, even if just for safety etc

I always do because of inspection.  The inspector needs to make sure everything is operational.

Always, and coordinate transfer from seller to buyer with utility companies.

Frank Rubi, MBA Same here, the utilities are on through closing and transfered to the buyer.

Yes.  In our area we leave the utilities on and they are changed over to the buyer the day of closing.

Absolutely. They should keep the utilities on and the insurance in force until after settlement.

You can not turn utilities off.  Bugs, rats, mold, frozen pipes etc.  If you still own it you pay.

Yes I do. If the sellers turn the utilities off prior to close and the home does not close for any reason they would have to turn them back on for a new buyer. 

Yes there are too many thing that could go wrong; sump pump over flowing or freezing and bursting water pipes!

Leave them on

You can't do a proper walk thru without utilities. How would you know if appliances were still in working condition?

Always, always request that sellers leave all utilities on until settlement day... otherwise how can you check that mechanicals, etc. are working at the walk-thru?

Yes, I do. The Escrow can be canceled( that is a bad thing, but it happens).

Yes, it saves a lot of headaches...

Yes, utilites on through closing to accomodate the walk through - although the matter of winterizing is of course important if necessary for a vacant home during the listing period. But they should be restored/turned on for walk through.

Only due to the home inspection Frank.

yes

Absolutely yes! That A/C must stay on!

The utilities need to be on for the final walkthrough and for other inspections.  I tell the seller to keep them on, but that they can call the provider and tell them to cancel them a/o COE.

Absolutely. Utilities and water must be kept up for repairs, insepctions, etc.

It's customary in my market. Once in a while they are shut off due to an agent's inexperience, and we have to have the sellers turn them back on. 

Positively, especially here in Florida. The A/C needs to run to make sure no mold starts growing.

Yes, dont want the pipes to freeze.

Good morning Frank,

Yes, it is part of the as is contract, unless it was written in the contract.

Yes, through the day of the closing; advise buyers to take over the day of the closing. Possible overlap is better than a mishap, where there might be no lights during last walk-through or upon moving in. 

We advise our sellers to leave them on until day of closing or possession.  We advise our buyers to have them changed over to their name on the day of closing or possession.    

Most definitely, my last closing the buyers just put the utilities in their names, no waiting...everything is on.

Of course, if they don't I have had them turned on and be reimbursed at or before closing without issue to this point. The goal is to make the process as smooth as possible.

It sort of depends.  Here the seller has to call the utility with a turn off request before the buyer can finish the switch.  To avoid having the utilities turned off, we often just do it all at the settlement table.