Put in our first offer and have some questions

[Stephanie D.]

Hello everyone! I've been reading the site for a while but this is my first post. We put in our first offer on a small duplex with two bedrooms in each unit. I am crunching numbers like crazy to see if it makes sense or not. It all seems to depend on how much I can get for rent, and whether or not the tenants pay for utilities. It is near a university so I am hoping for grad/law/medical students or mature undergrads. But, the fall semester is almost upon us (September 8) which leaves me very little time to find good tenants! The inside is completely renovated with new stainless steel appliances in one of the units, and used but good appliances in the other. My questions:

1. Do you include utilities or not? Pros/cons? I would prefer for the tenants to pay for utilities as I believe tenants can sometimes be wasteful if the landlord is paying. I have no idea what they will cost since the house has been completely renovated. And the higher rent I can get if I include utilities (about $100 per month per unit) does not cover utilities.

2. What about phone/cable/internet?

3. Furnished or unfurnished? I think for students, having a partly furnished placed might be attractive if they are moving away from home for the first time, but I bet the furniture would take a beating. On the other hand, I think I could get a higher rent by adding a few key pieces to make the place look even nicer.