He’s an excellent marketer and he will convince you not to trust negative reviews but we have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars. 300+ investors (without exaggeration) have been dealing with the Morris Invest nightmare.Stay away from:Morris InvestClayton/natali Morris Oceanpointe/OceanpointBlue skyBert WhalenI urge you to contact property management companies in Indiana (Wilmoth Group, BHB, etc...) and Jacksonville, FL to confirm my statement if you’d like.They’ve all heard about the huge scam and the big Morris Invest mafia and have inherited hundreds of investors with properties that were never rehabbed, squatters, no utilities, etc etc..I’ll send you more info directly.

You have many options.I don't know what rental prices are in Houston, but I have very many friends and previous buyers who have paid $1,200 a month for 800sqft-900sqft units (with water being the only utility paid for).I recommend West Gate area.

We are currently in a position to leave our current residence and live rent free in a home paying only utilities and upkeep.

There is actually room for 4 units (3 of which are rented) in the house which we want to utilize and so my question is .. are these 3 above requests or any of them a bit ridiculous and necessary and is there any way around this?

(NOTE: The buyer base for this area could be another investor, but more than likely it would be someone looking for a ski/2nd home.)While I can't account for everyone and am currently of the mindset that I will meter all "units" (pending any influential feedback here in the forums), I'm curious if anyone has any thoughts on pro's and con's to metering everything into 4 units or just metering each legal side (into 2 units) and splitting the upper and lower utility payments based on some other criteria (e.g. square footage).

You should consider utilizing a DST or two as a backup for your exchange if things don't materialize in time for your exchange. 

Id try to 3-4 months covered  just for the analytical side, can always lower reserves ... other than that are tenants paying all utilities?

@Joe DavisMy tenants pay all utilities, in my single family.

The separate utilities are going to be easier to deal with unless you plan on having other unit not have to pay for their utilities.

I would now like to try to collect unpaid utility bills and damages from a tenant, but I do not know where to start.Here's where I stand...The tenant moved out on July 31 leaving unpaid utility bills and damages of $723.29 (in addition to his security deposit).