The reality is that the Gross S8 Rent amount on an S8 voucher includes all utilities.

The house had the utilities turned off for the 6 years, and was filled with the original 1 owner's furniture, clothes, appliances, car and ecn food in the frig (without elctric on for 6 years). 

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.  

Typical utility bills (which we include) are $100-300/month.  

If you have high holding costs (financing, taxes, insurance, utilities, etc.) the longer you are holding the less money that you are makingSelling profitably - How long will it take to sell?

I am NET cash flowing just over 1k (includes maintenance, repairs, cap-ex, vacancies, utilities), which is pretty good considering this is in SoCal.

I know I need to get a credit card and keep my utilization ratio low, but I wouldn't know much about the process of actually receiving a conventional loan from a bank or any type of loan.

I also realized that I don't have to pay any utilities at all with single family homes.

Quote from @Eamon Conheady: I was purchasing a multi family through an IRA LLC and was utilizing debt to finance it, requiring a non-recourse loan.

How messed up the other utilities are, how much has to get torn up and infrastructure done before any rebuilding can take place.