Then there are the challenges with Section 8 tenants paying utilities and taking care of their rental property.

A lot of lenders used to apply 35% for expenses, but in the last several years, the numbers for supplies, labor, utilities, taxes, etc… have increased significantly.Also take into account the age, occupancy and how has the property been maintained, this will affect the expenses too

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."

Shared laundry meant a fifth utility meter and high water costs that I paid.

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.

If the didn't do that then they have converted to LTR or MTR rentals at a steady monthly income and have the tenants take over the utilities which offsets the loss of more income.

Or find a property that is under-utilized or has below market rents.Otherwise, you could also do the OPPOSITE of the great advice from @Jonathan Greene and buy a property with multi-bed units or live in the larger unit and rent out the smaller unit - while getting a roommate(s).

That's just the max they will pay for rent plus utilities.

Make sure everyone knows a cleaning schedule, expectation for common areas, how are you splitting utilities, guest policy, etc. 

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