For a 3 bedroom single family home the total of the utilitiy allowances for heat, cooking fuel, electric, etc. is $244/month.

Out west, it's usually natural gas.A lot of tenants prefer to cook with gas over electric, so that could be a bonus, if you install gas.Gas dryers and hot water heaters are also often more efficient.

I don't cook much so that wouldn't be a problem  for me. 

Any kind of flower plantings will have to be pruned, headed, weeded, edged, etc.If it was a small yard, I'd just cover the whole thing with concrete and tell the tenants they can grow plants in pots.

When tenants stop paying for utilities other problems arise, such as burning candles for light, using propane devices for heating, and BBQs for cooking, running extension cords from other residences and overloading them, and in the winter, freezing pipes.... to name a few.

When I saw that literally everything was covered in cooking grease I now believe the problem was caused by them.

I really need to hear my BPers opinions on this.Thanks, MP I think  you're absolutely right, it is wrong, that is the way the article was written and the misinformation used to stir the political pot for the average Texan.

Slobs had a large pot under the drain catching the water that leaked out, and of course, the pot overflowed quite often.

And I'm old enough to realize that even though I don't have anything very fancy, when you look at replacing your furniture and clothing and pots and pans and bedding, let alone your electronics, it sure adds up in a hurry.I have never needed my homeowners or renter's insurance policies, but I would never be without them.  

The depreciation expense on the equipment sweetens the pot even more.