Does anyone utilize a line of credit as an emergency fund?

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.

If not, you will have to utilize hard money which will drastically increase holding costs.

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.

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.

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

Ensure utilities are back in your name.

Even though rental properties can be somewhat passive, there are still things to keep an eye on, like collecting rent, making sure utilities get paid, ensuring property management is doing their thing, etc.