A growing number of buyers seem to be interested in seeing a history of the utility bills for a property prior to making a decision to buy. If you're a seller currently, it's a good heads up to start finding that information so it's readily available.

I think part of the reason for this is the dramatic increase in home heating and cooling costs we've seen over the last couple of years. And, of course, there's no reason to expect any large decrease in costs any time soon.

If you're contemplating selling a year or two down the road, I think I'd be looking now at ways to lower those utility bills. That may mean adding insulation. Or maybe you need to replace those 30 year old windows. It can't hurt to put in the new compact fluorescent bulbs. Any appliances you buy in the next year or two should, at the very least, be Energy Star appliances. And, if you really want to take a look at what you can do, I'd consider getting a home energy audit. It will give you a list of ways to make your home more energy efficient. You can decide which ones it makes sense to implement.

As a side benefit, you can enjoy some energy savings now yourself. And when you get ready to sell your house you'll be only too happy to hand over the list of utility costs! Sounds like a win/'win to me!