Advice required.......

[Bramble_killer]

So, what you are saying is once you have it, you are stuck with it?

Yup, once you have a water meter put in, it can never go away. Not even if you want to pay rates again.

[beaufontboy]

You may want to check on the water meter with the water company ,as some are more flexible, if you have a meter fitted you can after 12 months have it removed .

[lizzylemon]

Maybe ring up and speak to the companies involved. Water meters once they're in are there regardless and most houses already have them fitted but it might not be obvious where they are (ours is 300m up the road). We've just left a house with septic tank and the water bill was much cheaper there than this new place (now £350pa instead of 161pa) so maybe that could b a consideration for you.

Heres an interesting link:
Water rates and average household water bills

Gas and electric can be minimal payments on a DD and if you dont use what you pay for you can stop paying till you catch up or have it back if you change suppliers

Council tax is not brilliant but....

Council tax

Hope this helps.

[its hilly]

From helping pal who renovated three houses on the trot.

If it is empty and unfurnished and you notify the council you should get reduced or no CT (if only for a limited time)

Water..again if its empty and you notify them, zero or reduced (think to do zero they cut it off so a) you would have to fetch water for kettles loo etc and b) cant do it if you want central heating on) however I'm sure that when she told water board the property was empty we DID still have water for building work, so ring up and find out

Gas and electric...think if you pay by dd there is no standing charge, you dont have to pay a set amount you can just pay the entire bill each quarter. If you are only using it at w/e and background heat in winter that might be cheapest. Most companies do dual fuel discounts, that'll help, but you only get them if you do dd. Try looking on money supermarket to find some price comparison sites.

Nother thought..ask a builder ..they do it all the time so may have ideas (but i bet not as good as the vine)

[green thing]

if you are going to be doing building work you can go on a building water rates if the property is not habitable . they charged me £40 per year or if the property is empty you don't have to pay water rates ...Don't have a water meter fitted ,once a water meter is fitted your stuck with it.

with the gas and electric go on the normal billing system/ normal meters and just pay for what you use.
the only problem with this is they will keep sending you estimated bills
then you have to phone them explain the property is empty and give them the meter readings and will get bill for a few pounds . they do not trust people who have low meter reading and you will get a lot of appointment to read the meters , just to make sure your not tinkering with the meters
the gas board wanted to remove my gas meter because I was not using any gas (they wanted to charge me £400 to refit) so just use the gas fire to use 1 unit per quarter .

I had a card meter when I first bought my house , it was empty for a few years
I would put five pounds on the card and not used any gas or electric and it would run out of credit within a week

with the council tax you can have 12months rates free if your doing major building work then you have to pay 1/2 the rate

[miffy]

Also think about your insurance as If the building is going to be unoccupied for some time you need to let them know this so you have the right sort of cover, just incase something un expected were to happen whilst your house was empty. You know what slippery blighters insurance companies are so make sure you have the right level of cover.

[BigShot]

You might want to look ingot a guardian to avoid the potentially huge problem of squatters.

For the garden - have you thought about putting it on Landshare or renting it out on a "strictly limited to before I move in properly" basis?

[Two_Sheds]

I would put five pounds on the card and not used any gas or electric and it would run out of credit within a week

Yep, they are evil. I had a card meter at my old flat, and it was costing me £1.50 a week just to put lights on. I never could afford to turn on the heating. I'd go away for a few days, come back to find the lecky had run out and the fridge defrosted.
I also had the problem of finding shops that sold the top up cards: only one locally so when that was shut, tough.
Avoid them, get a DD and pay proper bills.

[Bigmallly]

With regards to Gas/Electric, I think there are insentives for paying by Direct Debit. £50 a year payback I think. As for water meters, they are fine if you are on your own but for a family could work out pricey plus you mention it has a large garden........That's why I have 8 water butts scattered around the garden.......

[piskieinboots]

Retire early - move in - job done

[Flummery]

Our old couple next door have a water meter. They find it quite costly so he plugs into next door the other side (side drives next to each other) to water his garden as they aren't metered! (They know about it, btw.)

[piskieinboots]

... (They know about it, btw.)

Let's hope the water board aren't looking in

[taff]

council tax will be reduced depending on the council for a set amount of time.They will want to come and see you have no furniture/have building work going on. They'll probably also write to you to ask you to rent out your house to DSS.

Water board won't charge you anything if it's empty but will start charging you once you say you're having building work done, so it's up to you whether or not you tell them
Don't have a water meter fitted until you've priced out how much you'll actually use against the standard amount they'll charge you for depending on the number of bedrooms your house has.

Gas and electric keys are the easiest things to use,you don't pay regularly, only pay for what you use, you can change it back to normal bills after if you like.

[Snadger]

Retire early - move in - job done

As Alecsandr Orlof would say * Seemples*

[Hilary B]

Water meters are certainly FAIRER than paying according to how much your house is worth (number of bedrooms is only relevant in that MOST houses with more bedrooms are worth more, but not always that simple). It may or may not be cheaper, but sooner or later we will all have them, like it or not!
If you expect to be there nearly every weekend to work, you still need to 'cultivate' the neighbours as well as the garden, so they notice if anyone ELSE is taking undue interest.
I believe that if you go for a 'used only' tarriff on electricity/gas, you can change it later (ie when you move in).