Can I ask sellers for the costs of their bills?

MobileSaver

user1977 said:

MobileSaver said:

YoungBlueEyes said:

I'm desperate to ask about the 9 fridge/freezers

Executive summary is it's a big house with 2½ kitchens so that's three normal fridges/fridge-freezers then there's three full-size wine/beer fridges, a chest freezer in the garage and a couple of other full-size fridges in other rooms for convenience.

Think that still raises more questions than it answers...

LOL, really didn't want to derail the thread with too much detail!

2½ kitchens is two proper kitchens where you can prepare and cook food, each with fridge freezer, dishwasher, ovens etc. then the ½ kitchen is my kitchenette next to my study with just sink, coffee machine, toaster and fridge.

The "other rooms for convenience" are one in my games room bar because weirdly some people drink water, milk or soft drinks and I don't want those on display in the fancy wine/beer fridges and then the ninth is the only fridge that isn't on 24/7; it's upstairs and only used in summer when we have a house full of family/friends staying over so they can help themselves to chilled water/milk/juice first thing or last thing without having to traipse downstairs.

Anyway, to try and stay on topic, the upshot is that I'm a little OCD about making things look just right and be as easy and convenient as possible for both ourselves and family/friends so my energy usage is much higher than most; my energy bills would tell a prospective buyer nothing except perhaps that I have a nesh girlfriend.

Muttleythefrog

Have to agree with the sentiment of many posters. Your usage of energy and water could vary significantly from theirs to the point it becomes almost meaningless to ask unless there was some specific concern which could cause excessive water or energy use beyond what you'd expect given the EPC and property construction information available.

I think most sellers would be happy to provide the info but there is a proportion I imagine who might wonder if you're unnecessarily delaying the process or are having doubts on affordability.

fackers_2

I look for the energy meter readout thing and snap a pic. It usually says monthly usage. The rest is fairly easy to find online. 

YoungBlueEyes

@MobileSaver - ok so you're in a large house and are considerate of your/guests liquid needs. 

Not the first place my brain went to, gotta say  

Sorry, that's further derailment. I'll shurrup now.

MobileSaver

fackers_2 said:

I look for the energy meter readout thing and snap a pic. It usually says monthly usage. The rest is fairly easy to find online. 

There are two problems with that though. Firstly less than half of all energy meters show monthly usage so one in two won't give you any information.

More importantly though any monthly usage that is shown is for the current occupants with their current lifestyle. While it may be absolutely spot on for your usage too, it may turn out to be a small fraction of your actual usage or it could be a multiple of your usage; in other words it's just utterly irrelevant.

If seeing someone else's energy usage gets you excited then knock yourself out but personally I really don't get the point.

maisie_cat

We provided the bills, but there were only two of us and the buyers were a family of five so not sure what help it was.

SadieO

I agree with others that energy usage will vary hugely with personal habits. But it can give some indication, especially if comparing (roughly) like with like. For instance I've just moved out of a two bed terrace. My friend was moving into a similar one so me telling him what my bills were at least gave him a starting point. 

I don't understand those who are sounding cagey about it, or outright refusing. How on earth could it harm you or take up any of your time to simply say "around £200 per month"? How useful that actually is to the asker is their business. 

lookstraightahead

Can you imagine being a researcher and everyone telling you that you don't need the information you've asked for / it's not relevant etc.

Sometimes other peoples experiences / knowledge is useful. I know some people know everything but they're just lucky.

Why does anyone feel the need to say no? They truly don't know if it's relevant. 

Mrs_pbradley936

Bills are going to be different - one household might have babies or older people there all day and another might be empty all day because two adults of working age are out from 7 am to 7 pm. The first house will likely have to have the heating on in cold spells for several hours a day.

Noneforit999

Agree with most other posters, it seems a redundant question as your usage will differ.

If the current owners are a couple who both work 9-5 out of the house but you are a family of four who both work from home, expect very different costs.

We both work from home so our gas and electric are probably 30% more than if we were both in the office all day