What's the best way to handle this?

If the tenant has an active renters insurance policy, most likely, their policy would handle the displacement.

Let you PM handle everything.

Are there any provisions in the lease to handle the months when the utilities go above what you expected?

Moving forward, I would add the cost of landscaping to the rent and handle it yourself. 

Hey @Braden Just,MK3 Construction handles rental property renovations, not sure about the historical tax credit piece though. 

Sounds like you have a good handle on things.

Also keep in mind that if you buy a rental you will want to keep some cash reserves on hand to handle maintenance/cap ex - of course that depends on the condition of the property you buy, or the level of rehab you do if you fix one up. 

If you don’t want to be as active in your property’s management (i.e. you’re not cut out for “by owner” management), then hire a good property manager to handle the nitty-gritty details like prepping the home for the next tenant.

They can handle online payments and service orders as you want.