Leave utility numbers for the final reading
Write the account numbers and schedule the final readings for the possession date.
Call each utility and ask for a final reading on the day you give up possession. Write the confirmation number, the date, and the phone number you called. Electric, gas, water, and trash may be four calls, not one. Do them from the account card you are about to make, so you are reading the account number instead of guessing it from a bill in a drawer.
Keep the account numbers on one card in the closing folder. You will want them if a bill arrives after you leave. Include the service address and the last four digits if the full number feels sensitive, but keep enough that you can identify the account when you call. A card in the folder beats a portal login you cannot remember from the new house.
Do not shut a service off early if the contract says the house stays heated or lit until possession. Match the shutoff to the date you already signed. A winter possession with the heat off is a broken pipe you may still be discussing. If the buyer is supposed to start service the same day, ask the utility what happens if there is a gap, and write the answer on the card. You want a handoff, not a dark house.
Leave the card copy, or the confirmation numbers, where the closing file can find them, and take a photo of the card for yourself. If a final bill is wrong, the confirmation number is the first thing the utility will ask for. Schedule the calls a few days before possession so a missed hold time does not land on moving morning. The readings are part of closing, not an errand you do after the truck is loaded.
What to do
- Call each utility and schedule a final reading for the possession date.
- Write the account numbers and the confirmation numbers on one card.
- Match any shutoff to the date in the contract, and do not cut heat or lights early.
- Keep the card in the closing folder and a copy with you.