I have a roommate I found to live with me that pays me $700 a month and splits electricity/utilities with me. 

Possibly adding a second bedroom in a 16x12 utility room downstairs.Option 1:We do $240,000 + $25,000 - $40,000 in mortgage plus improvements from the bank.

There are a lot of costs that most people fail to account for.Sales taxesLodging taxesMarketingBooking feesCredit card feesRepairsCleaningLandscapingFurnishing the unitReplacing consumables (tp, coffee, soap, etc)Utilities, including cable/internetInsuranceThere's more I'm forgetting.

I run my short-term rental business out of my personal house under my LLC, which I drew up a lease between that creates an agreement to pay for utilities, internet and common household products I need to function my business in exchange for the property.

A couple of tips and cautions about using credit cards or lines of credit to invest would include understanding that your credit goes down when you utilize a high percentage of your overall credit limit.  

If you have an early termination setup most decent people will take that - we do one month plus the deposit if there's no damages, and they walk without taking care of utilities, lawn care, etc. or we can re-rent and they can be held responsible for costs until re-rented.

Be sure to talk on the phone with any potential Realtor, PM or contractor you will utilize in Cleveland.

Sure, with a paid off house you might always have shelter, but you can’t eat your house, or buy clothes with it, pay for your kid’s college education or even your utility bills.

Agreed with post above, you should be able to either ask the owner for copies of the utility bills or sometimes you're able to call the town/village to get records.

As a landlord, you want to have procedures established for each task you will be performing (rent collection, marketing, showings, leasing process, move-in day, move-out day, maintenance calls, utility switches...) in order to treat your tenants equally and fairly.