Starting Out as a Landlord of a 4-plex

[Jacob I Strauss]

Hey BP so I'm excited because it's looking like I'm going to be the proud owner of a 4-plex breaking my analysis paralysis buuuuuuut I could use some direction.

1. currently the water is paid by the land lord half the electric and gas also paid by the land lord as well as trash and sewer. Long story short the rents are heavily depressed and to be honest I am not sure how the current investor makes a profit so first order of business is to sub meter the property though I was curious to know whats the best way to go about this? Do I need a meter for the toilet and the sink if one unit is attached to the home? should I prioritize one utility over the other? Should I hire someone to install these or is this something I can DIY? Also any recommendations for meters would also be appreciated planning for wireless ones so I don't have to physically check the meter and it'll just send it to my email.

2. What systems worked best for you in terms of book keeping and automated pay collection? In my mind I know I need to track the bills for each tenant and I also need to collect rent as well as file any complaints or work orders for each unit any help here would be greatly appreciated.

3. Because these rents are so depressed I am pretty sure I will have to go the eviction route and I have accounted for this I mean here in Vista, CA a 1 BD 1BA is 1,500, they are going for 1,100 the main home 3 BD 2 BA should be around 3200-3500 currently 1,800 and hes paying most of the utilities. That aside I know whats required by law but what strategies work best for a peaceful move out?

4. What are musts in the screening process so I imagine Credit score has to be good the higher the better, income needs to be 50%-75% above rent, must provide a deposit "considering doing a non-refundable deposit instead of holding onto a deposit" Job/ income verification is it a steady job etc etc... what tools or services do you use to verify these aswell?

As always thank you BP community!!!