2) Receive the electricity bill in your own name and create an invoice reflecting the price and metered usage?

Originally posted by Joshua George:There were better comps, in the area, their was a house around 1200 sq ft that had just sold for 175,000 that was updated similar to mine same size lot, and he said he couldnt use it bc it was bigger in sq ft.but then he used comp #2 on mine that was 1500 sq ft, im no math wiz but that would be a good bit bigger.If this is for a purchase or a refi, you can always appeal to the underwriter, submit the comp that wasn't used with your justification for why it's better than one that was used, and hope for the best...At this point in the process though, it's unlikely to get changed.And while it may be unethical for him to change the appraisal values across the board for you, he did it to help you out, so calling him out on it seems a bit inappropriate.

First, I would never pay utilities or buy a place where the LL paid them, maybe water, but certainly not electric and gas, But if that's common in your area, see what the average and highs are, blend those historic costs to arrive at a monthly cover charege, creidit tenants with such amount and charge extra for over usage.

Having only 2 tenants in there instead of 3 should lower water usage by 1/3 which would lower your monthly expenses.

However, I haven't purchased either yet so I don't have first hand usage. 

Id venture to say zillow is happy making the millions/billions they already do off of us agents and advertising. 

Another way is to charge a flat amount at the end of the year and give them rest back when you figure out usage

The VRBO calendars help, but you won't know if the books represent full-ticket guests or owner usage.   4.  

If the units have separate power meters, you can be assured the usage is legal.  

Ideally, I would look for a sub meter company that can  read the  water usage for  each apartment and bill the tenants directly.