You do have to pay a little buyers premium and closing cost are fairly high. 

That seems to be the most fair for the water, but since I think the gas is used not only for heat but also for stoves/ovens, I'm curious to see if anyone has another way of splitting this out.Any thoughts?

When I ran the credit check, it did show a large number of inquiries followed by a number of accounts closed due to bankruptcy a little over a year ago.She also said that a company handles all her bills so she would need a letter stating the amount of the deposit and rent and they would send us a check. 

A question on fair housing for our legal eagles...I have a unit which I think is going to turn over soon.

Their mortgage payments will be paid directly to the lender each month in a timely matter, ensuring that our investment is secure and safe while protecting the seller future profits and paying down the principle putting more into the sellers pocket.Knowing that we are helping the sellers credit score and they won’t have to suffer as a result unable to make those payments.

I am currently screening tenants for my rental apartment, a few of them have good credit score (above 700) but their credit history is only 0.5-1 year old.  

However, like you said, all they are doing is opening credit cards for you.

They're offering forbearance on mortgage, credit card, and other debt payments.

I have excellent credit but I want to make a sound choice.

A good realtor should be able to negotiate things like closing date (on maybe the 6th or 7th of the month), seller carry back if needed (or useful), personal property to be included in the price, closing costs, buyer credits back for items in need of repair, home warranty, the list goes on.