All commissions are negotiable and any discussion by agents related to expected commission would be inappropriate (illegal).

What can be deducted- prorated expenses based on the square footage of these expenses or other reasonable method (usage) can be deducted:  Mortgage (If you use these expense as home office deduction, you cannot take the same portion of the expense as itemized deductions.)

I know opinions will vary based on personal style of management. 1) If you've had this issue, any suggestions to improve usage? 

@Andrew Martherus: MLS allows us agents to search, so that’s probably the best way.

We replaced roofs, refinished the interiors, repaired staircases to top units in order to make them safe for usage - they were in horrible + unsafe condition upon purchase.

There are a variety of trust formats, with specific advantages and disadvantages based on geography and usage.

I'm investing in a smaller town where it's all base charge and no metering or usage charges.

The tenants got charged to fix the yard back but we ended up building a deck over half the yard making it harder for repeat performance.I had a neighboring tenant make some inappropriate remarks about a female tenant. 

We choose to use our HELOCs as short term financing or credit reserves for quick usage and partner with hard money or private lenders for the majority of the financing up front.

That cost could be baked into the rent, but without any incentive for the tenants to moderate their electric usage, it could be a costly situation for the owner.I would recommend looking into costs to have it metered properly first and if that is not effective, have a set amount built in to the lease that the tenant will pay each month.