I’d suggest drafting a solid agreement upfront that covers everything—ownership percentage, costs (mortgage, repairs, utilities), how profit is split, and even exit strategies if one of you wants out.

Over all, a portfolio of DIVERSIFIED (as to residential areas) properties utilizing a buy and hold strategy should provide an adequate risk adjusted return without utilizing any other “opportunistic” strategies to “gig” the ROI.  

@Vincent Aiello - and for payment, do you utilize paypal or another online portal?

Pay to separately meter the utility.

For example, temporarily stopping utilities to their unit during a repair or if there will be loud noise or a major renovation on the premises. 

Do most of them include the utilities in the monthly fees?

Please provide a forwarding address prior to moving out, and be sure to cancel/transfer any utilities out of your name by the move out date.

After getting a good amount of equity in the house for future HELOC funding, I was going to move out of it and use the property as a rental utilizing a lease option, or, rent to own agreement. 

Well, do they have a job to pay that extra $200 plus utilities per month?  

Unique features like land and outdoor amenities can add value, and utilities can increase rent.