@Randy King,Get you a good insurance policy and forget about all the books and snake-oil salesmen.

It needs to be explained to them that it is heat and they need to compare it to putting $1000.00 in an oil tank.

It was the cheesiest snake oil thing I've ever seen and I didn't finish the 3 day course.

Was it because they let the heat run out (oil or propane) and the pipes froze?

I live in a city that is projected to be impacted by the Bakken oil boom in the very near future.

I am currently having my handyman fix up the property & I am replacing the heating system from oil to electrical.

We live in a oil boom right now where the real estate is too high to really find any deals right now. 3 years ago you could have bought a house for $50k that today cost over $180.

People rent for many reasons, but some common ones are: 1) they do not have sufficient resources to make the downpayment on a property purchase; 2) they do not have the credit history to qualify for financing; 3) they are in the area temporarily, or periodically, and do not wish to establish roots (students, oil field workers, politicians & staff attending the legislature, etc); 4) home ownership is just not right for some folks.

Are utilities (gas, electric, oil etc.) separate and do all tenants pay their own?

It comes from a tradition of installment sales and land contracts in the desert and in the oil towns.