Other than outstanding taxes, and utilities, I don't need to worry about anything else.

Are utilities paid by individual unit tenants?

If that's the case, you would charge rent + utilities + water or just lump it into one rent fee.One thing to keep in mind is that friends often bail on deals like this once you get it so you have to be prepared to have to figure it out if you get the house and he isn't interested.

Ensure utilities are back in your name.

You can - 1) establish a trust for asset protection, 2) utilize the Homestead Exemption for property protection, 3) consider tenancy by the entirety for marital property (this might just be applicable to California, my home state)4) make sure you have adequate liability insurance for additional protection, 5) think about forming a business entity to shield assets, 6) and have proper estate planning for asset distribution.Seek tax and legal advice from experts in your state.

Further, how can you enforce collections if you're not a utility?

Two months ago we sold the property utilizing a wrap mortgage with a 10% interest rate.  

The ONLY warranty I’ve ever found to be worth anything are the $5/mo warranties through utility companies.

They are rarely reported accurately by realtors on the MLS when transactions close to begin with and I don't believe anything other than the contract sale prices are utilized although an official study on this would be very interesting albeit a painstaking process to undertake. 

Obviously, I’d have to account for utilities and furnishings- I want those that have experience in this area and then maybe I could converse more on such items to look to before signing a contract.