Serious concern buying a REO

[Jack Srimani]

Hi,
I just got approved of a bank loan from a small bank. (Thanks for folks who advised small bank for small loan). Now tomorrow my realtor and I are going to go through the offer contract. After signature the realtor is going to submit the offer to the bank with earnest money deposit. For this house the water is currently shut(kind of winterized). There is no electricity. I would like to do a thorough inspection to know how the structure, water, furnace, water heater is working. However my realtor is saying it may be difficult to get the electricity back on as there may be past bills due from the previous owner. I was confused with that statement. Without electricity there is no way to see how the water heater, the furnace (heating is working). So I will have no idea if these are in working condition. Under this circumstance I do not know how to proceed as this is my first REO. Could somebody help me with some direction. Also the earnest money is 1000 dollars though the house is for 24000 dollars currently.
Thanks

[Jon Klaus]

First step is to check with the electric co and tell them what you are doing. It may not be a problem. The HUD contractors typically use generators to test electric.