GRM and cap rate both looked great, but when we pulled utility records, we found heating costs in winter were brutal because of old, inefficient systems.

@Chris Collins  Tenants usually pay all utilities. 

However, if you intend to work with a hard money lender or utilize a short-term loan product, you're on the clock for repayment, which can be stressful if things go sideways. 

I want to utilize my arbitrage to obviously use for my personal life but also to create a hefty fund for investment properties later on the line. 

We gave him an old lease that said he didn't have to pay water (we newly split the utilities in the unit) and he noticed we charged him for water and then we refunded him (although he continued to send us pics of his napkin math that says we didn't refund him enough).   

(If there’s isn’t a checkbox for utilities on).

I have recently started utilizing this platform for just that and I've already had some great conversations with people here. 

Current section 8 tenants pay $2100 rent...plus utilities.

But the answer for everyone may differ.Here are the personal attributes I see in those able to achieve a higher than market ROI, enough higher to be able to “scale”.1- Knowledge of real estate principles, real estate law and real estate finance2- Minimum 3 -5 years full time, or near full time experience directly related to real estate investing3- Ability to utilize technology for increased efficiency, capacity, and accuracy4- Excellent hired legal counsel and excellent hired marketing help5- Established method(s) of obtaining consistently high QUALITY deal flow6- Ability to manage and choose people who are NOT employees: Attorneys, Appraisers, Mortgage Brokers, Real Estate Brokers, Title Companies, Surveyors, Marketing Specialists, Accountants, Contractors, Consultants, Property Managers7- A VERIFIABLE track record of success8- Ability to identify, analyze, and negotiate a deal that can be “worked” for “enhanced” ROI9- Some type of competitive advantage; for example for me it’s my ability to analyze and identify mortgage loans that are actually less risky than all other lenders believe (on the investing in debt side), and on the real property side it’s my ability to analyze”pull the trigger” with LESS information than other investors need,  combined with the ability to pay cash, or raise significant capital almost instantly as well as being able to obtain loans at the lowest prime customer bank rate with no recourse or personal liability.  

You say things like "It was understood that I would continue to utilize the garage and one room for storage as I transitioned to living out of state."