New Disclosure for Electricity Costs

As of July 1st, Hawaii owners will need to disclose their electricity bills, with some exceptions.  House Bill 1464 says:

“Prior to the sale of residential real property, the property owner shall make a good faith declaration of electricity cost based on the most recent three-month period in which the property was occupied prior to the date of the seller’s disclosure, pursuant to chapter 508D. This declaration shall only apply where the owner directly pays the electrical utility bills, and shall not apply in the case of a foreclosure of residential real property or where there are no electric utility accounts associated with the property.”

When working with buyers, I have often had clients ask me to ask the listing agent what the owner’s electricity costs are? This is a good question, because as a potential buyer, you may want to get an idea going in what your monthly cost will be. The hard part about this is every owner has different uses: Some have large families, some don’t.  Some have lots of computer equipment, some don’t. Some have multiple refrigerators, some have only one. Some run the air conditioning a lot, some don’t. I just looked at my own electric bill and although I made a conscious effort to use the AC less, this has been a very hot June thus far on Oahu. The good news is although my use went up, my bill was $100 less than it was in June of 2008! The price of oil is obviously a big factor and can make a HUGE difference as well.  Although this new law may help potential buyers with their decision process, I would take it with a grain of salt!