Same thing with taxes (that's public record), utility rates (you can make reasonable guesses on consumption levels), landscaping costs, etc.

My solution (borrowed from Neil Boortz), is the consumption tax.

Thomas Jefferson knew that consumption was the best for of taxation- (see http://duckduckgo.com/?

In the dead of winter, the source water temperature is low enough that the solar thermal frequently does not lift the water temperature enough for consumption (usually 10-20 degrees low) under heavy load.

What kind of consumption figures are we talking about?

But, when I present a property my idea is to do so with a numbers report from the outset, where I calculate estimated initial investment (in all the relevant categories laid out for easy consumption) as well as calculate return on investment, cash flow, expenses, etc.

There may be an opportunity there to recapture the utilities that you pay for, and also reduce consumption by up to 30%.

What is your monthly (or bi-monthly, or quarterly) water consumption?

One month I'm charged only base rates for water,sewer,garbage and the next I'm charged for water, sewer,garbage PLUS consumption.

It would be interesting to see what the water rates, along with consumption are at this property.