Are utilities paid by individual unit tenants?

If that's the case, you would charge rent + utilities + water or just lump it into one rent fee.One thing to keep in mind is that friends often bail on deals like this once you get it so you have to be prepared to have to figure it out if you get the house and he isn't interested.

Quote from @Michael Galace: I'm utilizing their service, been with this agency for 5 months now. 

Credit scores are made up of many factors, one is the utilization of an account vs its credit limit.

The ONLY warranty I’ve ever found to be worth anything are the $5/mo warranties through utility companies.

You can - 1) establish a trust for asset protection, 2) utilize the Homestead Exemption for property protection, 3) consider tenancy by the entirety for marital property (this might just be applicable to California, my home state)4) make sure you have adequate liability insurance for additional protection, 5) think about forming a business entity to shield assets, 6) and have proper estate planning for asset distribution.Seek tax and legal advice from experts in your state.

Ensure utilities are back in your name.

I'd love to utilize their expertise when assessing a property since they are local but I'm not sure what the general expectation is when I don't have a tangible property and I have not entered into contract to work with them yet.Some questions I have are: local regulations/permitting timeline, property's potential from their perspective, landscaping/amenities cost estimate (they also help facilitate this).

Everyone on here is saying that you can do it, but it's definitely not possible if you don't have a lease in place on the unit you are currently living in or can show you are living somewhere else with a utility bill or rental lease  to demonstrate that you are not intending to live in the subject property.

Obviously, I’d have to account for utilities and furnishings- I want those that have experience in this area and then maybe I could converse more on such items to look to before signing a contract.