You are talking about a new water service line upgrade right?

Water, trash, internet, and fire wood make up the rest of the utility allocation.  

Here’s what I do with my rentals:I either have tenants split the utility bills or include a clause in the lease that states if the gas or water bill exceeds a specific amount ($X), the tenant will be responsible for the overage, provided there are no leaks or other infrastructure issues contributing to the high usage.To determine this $X amount:Water: I take the highest water bill I’ve had over the past year (excluding periods where leaks occurred) and add about $15 to account for small fluctuations or potential increases.Gas: For gas, I calculate the median bill during the winter (when usage is highest) and the median bill in the summer (when usage is typically lowest).

We are local contractors in the area looking to get our feet wet in the real estate investing waters.

This house had 12” of water/ice in the basement... there’s a nice sump pump set up just sitting there with no power...

So at the end of the 5 years, you are just treading water with the lower price point home, while you made headway with the other one. 

If it is, I would do whatever I could to get good paying tenants in there right away,  If it is vacant, you are going to be running through cash like water through a sieve. 

If I buy a house for $400k, and the market drops and the house is now worth $300k, I am under water.

However, if for example, the company did not install or disconnect the washer and dryer correctly (such as leaving a valve on) while water is turned off prematurely, causing damage, what language do you put in the Lease to also hold other parties accountable such as ALE and appliance install company?   

I got a very good price on the building (about $25k per door), but it was a ton of work as in addition to tenant issues, there was TONS of physical distress (foundation repairs, sewer line and water line repairs, electrical upgrades, new roof, and apartment renovations needed for all units).