If the tenants understand WHY you are doing what you are doing, it will be easier for them to engage and grasp WHAT the goal is and HOW to get there.If a tenant has a bank account, it can be beneficial for receiving, saving and managing money, as well as for paying rent and utilities.

One thing I noticed in these older buildings is most time  utilities is NOT separated.

Purchase Price 74 k , taxes 6000 year , insurance 400 yr. house needs 25 k in repairs . rents are 750 a side , tenants pay all utilities.  

Our target areas for property are Kauai, San Diego, and Mystic CT.Up until now my wife and I have purchased and sold two homes utilizing VA benefits for a small profit and recently went into a small under budget rental in hopes of purchaseing a rental property.

Continue to utilize the forums.

Can we lower utility costs with energy efficient fixes?

In other words you receive a 30% tax credit on the solar system as well as a 30% tax credit at the least on the roof that is under the solar system (full roof 30% depends on the advice of your CPA).Couple that with the roof now becoming a producing asset and offsetting the utility bill instead of a liability and the increase in appraised home value assuming the solar system is not leased then going solar makes a lot of sense at the same time as replacing/repairing a roof.So in short you don't "get a roof if you go solar", but there are certainly advantages to adding solar to a roof replacement.

Always make sure utility wise you have that all buttoned up as that hurts your noi.

The problem would be getting them to commit and look at this, I know a lot of management firms utilize these deposits for extra revenue but they need to be fair and give you every opportunity to correct. 

Zoning, what utilities are in place or are available, easements, views,  and what a buyer would intend to use the property for are all important factors.