On average with water tenants use 30% more when it is included in rent or not direct billed to them.The utility companies I have found vary by city and county.Some will lien a property and some will not.It just all depends on the county and city rules and who provides what.I have seen out of town owners who buy apartment buildings be required to put down very large deposits by the utility companies in the tens of thousands upfront.They didn't ask near that amount for the locals.When I talk to investors who own 50,100,150 unit apartment buildings they do not worry about condition of the place,getting tenants out (as long as it's a landlord friendly state),and other items.The number one concern they have above anything else is utilities.I call landlord paid utilities the "cash flow killer".

.- just like my local, non turnkey rentals, some units have had little maintenance, others I've had to spend a couple thousand on.

I would probably piggy back some on Peter's idea and cite the lack of basic building knowledge some tenants have,  with interesting examples like....pulling out a dryer to get a lost quarter but disconnecting the vent inside the wall to then vent moist air into the framing causing expensive (thousands) rot repair.putting a tarp on junk (literally) but slanting the tarp angle right into the siding in rainy season (rotting your new siding--but preserving their worn out tires).attachments to clutter, rusty junk, semi-operational cars and illogical desire to retain said junk and debris.I sort of also fall back on the divide between some of the personal management skills of landlords and tenants (realizing it may be why they are tenants, for example). 

Insurance should come through for you when you have catastrophic multi-thousand dollar damage.

@Melissa Bogle  The reason a lot of software companies are not providing contracts is because every state and even some counties and cities have specific language that needs to accompany legal documents concerned with housing and rentals, so they'd have to provide hundreds if not thousands of versions of these documents.

It totally ruins the point of paying in cash.

So now I post to thousands who follow my content but it does not make sales. 

I do thousands a months as well as mail.

This 600-1000 can potentially save you tens of thousands down the road in a bad deal. 

Your CPA can help you to design a strategy for your specific situation, but having theses activities taxed as an S-Corp can save you thousands in taxes.