I know that many of my fellow investors buy in the actual city of Detroit and their furnaces, water heaters, etc. are stolen from their properties. 

Best Practice: do not provide variable cost services like internet, water, PG&E, or trash service to residents. 

The AC question with Mini Split units is that they have to have an outside drain. lots of rooms without windows or office buildings do not have a place for a drain outside in a yard and people install without which leads to a problem with dripping water.

I even turned off the hot water tank to save money (until my then-girlfriend, now wife, convinced me to turn it back on)—all to use these savings as my launching pad of capital to get into buying income-producing real estate and starting a business.Fast forward to today, the foundational skills and inspiring stories I absorbed from the BP podcast have given me the confidence to take action and believe in myself, significantly advancing my investment career.

A few weeks ago, her washer and dryer hose burst causing a massive water leak.

You need to think of your worst-case scenarios, like vacancies, rent decreasing, fines, fire/water damage, and getting sued. 

I am just left with heat water garbage and all the incedentals How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

I already tried contacting a permitting attorneys but thought someone would know better.Side note for the goodies, local ordinance is not a federal law and is not subject to jail time as far as I know.So I'm designing the two ADUs with that in mind and putting them on their own power, water and sewer in case I 1033 in the future.

Sit down with them, express your interest, and ask how you could partner together to learn the ropes and dip your toes in the water.

My bedroom ceiling started leaking...I put a pot on the floor to catch the water and called the landlord at 11PM.