I’m thinking folks that are going to end up renting from me are going to be somewhat more conscientious than the average tenant.

What is the average price you are seeing/bed or /resident?

However if we are talking just average run of the mill locations, then renting might be the call according to Shiller of Case Shiller.

., when you actually try to lay eyes on the product.

However it's surprising how many homes in below average areas still perform.

(Myself included) essentially they tie up 1500 dollars a month over an average of 30 years.

30 year loans are fannie-backed products. 

There are many programs to get owner-occupants properties at a lower price (FHA, VA, etc), but not many financial products to help landlords get started.

We do that exact same thing, and use TurboTax, too, I think it's a great product for rental properties and really simplifies things.

The electrical on that one is split.For us, and the option without knowing any more I'd recommend is to : We found the easiest thing to do was to pay the bills yourself and simply build what you think is the average utility bills attributable to each space into the rent price.In terms of marketing, market the place at the lower so you don't turn away people and then negotiate you paying those bills (the increase in rent functionallyThat said, there are other options but of course they involve cost.