. :) And I have seen people who have "line closed by lender" marks on their portfolio after lack of usage for long periods of time, so I also love your bi-annual purchase suggestion.

My friend, water usage is something that can get out of control quietly and quickly if you aren't paying attention, and most landlords do not.

Bottom line:  Due to promotional interest rates, credit cards can be very economical for short term financing (and a viable alternative for hard money) but are categorically inappropriate for long term financing.

Borrowing from a 401k should be a last resort and is an inappropriate action 9 times out of 10.

If it's not the meter or the minor leaks, it must be excessive usage. 

I hate landlord paid utilities, tenants will take advantage and run up much higher usage than if they were paying the bill.   

Forgive me if that is inappropriate.

Have spoken with municipality, the basement cannot be turned into a 4th unit unfortunately. o The biggest deferred maintenance are the bathrooms – so while a major cost, something I could absorb. o Depending on cost (which I have no experience estimating but am working on) I could segregate the nat gas an oil for the two units which, over time, could pay off with each tenant covering their respective usage.

The way I see it, they will certainly care more about their usage if they have to pay some.

So if they shared then 1 unit would get the bill for both units doing laundry (water usage etc..)