If you have already relocated and are still tying to sell your former home, I really feel sorry for you. Truly, I do. I have been through that a couple of times and it is really, really frustrating. I know what it feels like to be living far away and still trying to cope with an unsold home, and worrying about the financial burden.

If this is your situation, what are you doing about your utilities - electricity for lights, gas for heat, water, etc?

Some people decide they don't want to pay these and cut them off when they move. I'm not sure this is a good idea.

First, you end up having a home you are showing to potential buyers that is cold (especially now). Not very appealing. Second, buyers like to turn on lights, and I do, as a REALTOR, when I am showing homes. They can't do that if you disconnect the power. So if someone finds the house kinda dark during the day, or is trying to tour things after work, YOURS will not shine (sorry, about the bad pun). I think the other concern would be having a totally dark house there every day and night- why not leave one lamp with a timer? Or perhaps in a couple of rooms.

The other issue is water. I was in a home today without water, due to relocation, and while it was not an issue with us, it made me think of cases where buyers have gone to use the restroom, and...well, you can imagine.

And in a really COLD house (no heat) in the winter the pipes could freeze. You DON"T want that to happen - it gets really ugly.

Get your agent to help you here, by making sure the heat stays low , but is at least on above freezing. And s/he can stop by and check on the property regularly to make sure there are no problems (if YOUR AGENT isn't doing this, I think you have the wrong person working on your behalf). The cost of utilities that are not being used much is a small price to pay to avoid larger problems. And it could make a difference to that buyer. At least give this some thought.

If you have bought a home in your new city and will be moving right in after driving (or flying) across the country, you will need to do some planning for your utilities. We drove cross country and went right to our new home - the furniture was arriving the next day, but with some advance planning we were in good shape to spend the night.

1. Find out who the utility providers are in the new area (you can find this on-line or ask your agent) for gas, electric, or oil (if you have an oil-fired furnace) several weeks in advance.

2. Contact each utility company to make sure they provide service in your area (there may be two different gas providers, for example), then set up a new account in your name.

3. Schedule the service to be turned on as of the date of closing (the sellers will take care of turning off their account). That way you can avoid an interruption of service and it will be less expensive, or perhaps no charge for a new account. Even if you don't move in right away, the cost of running the utilities will probably less than having to pay for turning on new service (this can cost $25 -$50 or more if the service has been interrupted).

4. Call the telephone company in advance as well, as it can sometimes take 2 weeks for service to be set up. You will also need to change your cell phone provider service so you have a local number. You might not want this to be done until you actually arrive to keep the costs down.

5. Call the cable company (again, check on line to see who the provider is - here in Southern California where I live we now have Time Warner - it was Adelphia - but other areas have SBCGlobal) to schedule time to come by your house and set up the service. You probably cannot do this before you move in but that may depend on the provider.

6. Contact the water department to change over the billing on your water and sewer.

7. Check on trash service (your agent can get you the number) and arrange for any changes that they require. Ask about pick up days, the local dump, and how they handle recycling. The previous owners may have trash barrels they are leaving, or the recycling containers.