My friends that chose the middle did so since they thought that utilities would be cheapest since they were in between 2 units so bottom floor heat would rise up in the winter but not too much like the 3rd floor had which increased cooling costs. 

There are some interior cosmetic improvements I plan to make utilizing the cash flow of the property over the first year.

If the one spouse has a consistent history of late payments to utilities and such, then I'd be more hesitant.

Based on my formula (8.3% vacancy, 10% repair, 5% CapEx, 10% prop mgmt, plus mortgage/prop tax/insurance and utilizes), I came up with $400+ in monthly cashflow and ~8% CoC ROI.

Smart thermostat or programmable is always a good idea for energy savings (more important if you are including utilities).

Tenants who pay utilities themselves might appreciate the fan to cut back on cost of having AC running. 

Maybe keeping the current mortgage and utilizing the $25,000 HELOC is a reasonable path...just a little slower than the "cash out refi and buy 2 more properties" path... 

Holding the land until utilities and septic become available before building.

We furnished the basement and rented it through Airbnb - the income fully covered our mortgage and utilities!

The house has a walk-out basement with 1 bed 1 bath and a full living area.We furnished the basement and rented it through Airbnb - the income fully covered our mortgage and utilities!