It gives me a chance to communicate CLEARLY with the tenant.

Yep, you need to cover all utilities, though it's becoming more common to put a cap on certain costs, primarily electricity, although I've seen caps on gas and water in areas where those utilities are very expensive.

Primarily we are considering investing out of state and would ideally have a property manager. 

There are so many caveats and unknowns here that this is just an attempt at an idea...Option 1, the four grandchildren living in the property buy out the other two:-Estimate your PITI payments based on the expected payout to the 2 grandchildren being bought out.

The mortgage payment is based on the interest rate and term. 

State income taxes are usually based on the gain or loss from each state, so you pay taxes on your gain in Illinois.

Hello, I am looking for a Maine based attorney to handle a private mortgage contract. any recommendations?

Again just covering my bases...thanks

Based on the desired monthly payment, we use a financial calculator to determine the necessary terms to achieve that payment, considering the price the seller is asking.If interest rates are not specified, our initial offer includes our desired monthly payment along with their asking price, with a balloon payment due in year 20.

You may also want to look into what Section 8's rates are if they will only pay a certain amount of rent based on bedroom count.