Make sure your agent knows how you feel up front about the due diligence and how many days you must have, starting with 10 at the minimum. Now, here is the scenario: you go under contract or the contract becomes binding. The house is vacant, and even with the advance planning, it is going to take a minimum of 6 or 7 days to have the water, gas, and electricity reactivated.
If your agent did not have a provision in the agreement or contract stating that the due diligence starts when all utilities are confirmed and active, then you just lost 6 to 7 days of your due diligence period. Never inspect a home with one or more of the utilities turned off. Systems or equipment costs a lot of money and the only way you can inspect the systems or equipment is to have the utilities active. Remember: your due diligence time frame should start when it is confirmed that all utilities are active.
