Or you could simply just include a flat fee in the rent and advertise the units having certain utilities paid for.Offering below list price is difficult (but not impossible) in western WA, so you need to identify other value add opportunities that will decrease expenses or increase cash flow.

I have a nice updated 3 flat with a seperate basement where laundry is located.

I use 10% for management, but have had clients pay everything from 16% (10% plus 1 months rent every lease signing) to a flat $50 / month.The real questions - what value add opportunities are there?

Have you tried baking soda or febreeze.  

Prices overall are pretty much flat (although individual neighborhoods are still gentrifying) and supply has finally started to increase.

I would say its tougher these days to find easy flips in the multifamily space, but if you are looking to buy/hold for rental income you can cash flow about $1000/mo (after debt service) on a $500,000 building (4-6 flat) in several areas.  

Hello,I am in the process of beginning to search for a 2-3 flat in Chicago that my wife and I can live in and simultaneously rent out the other unit(s).

That allowance is then baked into the lease because the building's owners and the tenant each get substantially greater tax benefits from working the deal that way. 

I only look to this exit when my primary buyers pass on a deal (if they are interested, I pay an agent a flat fee to conduct my business)....My primary buyers pass a lot on deals because they are buy n hold investors, so the numbers are different than fix n flip numbers.

The vast majority of my bookings are on Airbnb and I made the amateur move of paying the flat fee to Homeaway when I signed up.