Many will say their eventual commission is their incentive and this is simply the nature of their work, but something like a gas card would help let them know you appreciate their hard work and should be pretty universally accepted as opposed to trying to guess what restaurants they might like/stores they might shop at.

Nobody wants to walk through a 90 degree rental during the summer.I'll leave water and gas turned off. 

Also, it's great feeling to be paying gas and water bills when the tenant refuses to pay the rent.2.

Rent it out as an STR to lower management types of people in the oil & gas industry. 

, keep an eye on the sump pump (what is normal, what is concerning), washer and dryer hookups (yes gas and elctric, different types of elctric plugs) and most importantly: here is how you shut off the water, the gas and the power in case of an emergency!

@Eric Ippolito  first it takes Capital to fund the due diligence process and bring the project to shovel ready but the following steps are free and are done by you to determine feasibility.Check with the city or county to determine what is required for all approvals including site plan and building permits, proffers, water/sewer tap fees, bonding requirements, inspections and CO process and time frame for all approvals.You also need to check with the utility companies and get an idea of availability and cost estimates from them for water, sewer, power, gas, cable, installation and connection requirements, tap fees, hookup charges, transformer location and relocation, power line and power pole relocation issues.Check to see if you have to install any manholes,fire hydrants, curb, gutter, sidewalks, street signs, street lighting any specific street design or access requirements,.Check DOT requirements for access, stop lights and permits, traffic studiesDWQ requirements for permits, permit fees, time framesThis is a broad overview of the process and your civil engineer can handle all of this but it's good for you to know exactly what's required.

Contract law usually upholds that agreements of 1 year or more must be in writing to be legally valid.

I will be house hacking at University in Canada and wanted to know if I should pay for all the bills( gas, electric, water, garbage) or have them pay some other way.

Whatever answer they tell me has no validity or accuracy. 

But one building the tenant pays for all utilities and the 2nd building the LL pays for gas and water.