We could provide our current primary residence to either our son or someone else willing to live near and keep an eye on us. (2) As an STR, the ADU could provide me with something to do during retirement, especially the first year when I was finding a new identity.

One item we would like to incorporate on this document is some information that demonstrates/shows the purchasing power of landlords. 

Keep an eye on it.

We were able to re design the floor plan to allow for a laundry closet that was out of sight and out of mind so it wasn't an eye sore.

you opened up my eyes to things i hadn't thought about.  

He wanted me to learn my area, and start developing an eye for off-market distressed homes so I could wholesale to build financial capital to invest myself.

Government regulations are getting worse, not better, and it's just a matter of time before they catch you and shut down the entire operation.

For me after I catch myself in that mode I think of my "vivid vision" as Brandon Turner likes to mention in his podcasts, decide if I want to stay in my lane or branch out, and also ask myself if this decision would make sense in 5 days, 5 weeks, 5 months, and 5 years....and go from there.Mike

Could be those past bills were estimates and you now have an actual reading that “catches up” on past bills that were too low.Another thing is tenants running extension cords from hallway receptacles to run space heaters inside their units.If you have radiators, you want to keep heat on so that they do not have any potential for freezing up, but you don’t have to keep the temperature higher than say 60F.

Congrats on catching the real estate investing bug!