@Jennifer Whitledge  There are two bills associated with the water heater: water usage and heat source (electric or gas are common). 

I've also worked at most construction trades (no high steel) and my share of rehabs.Many levels of USA government are responsible for laws pertaining to land and its usage.

A well designed solar system is designed to offset 100% of your usage based on previous 12 months' usage and conversation about future usage such as intent to buy an electric car, etc.A relatively small bill with the utility will always be there as there is a connection fee for the privilege of being attached to the grid.

I'm not sure if tenants would pay more money for the unit if we had these, but I was thinking about paying for all the electric myself and then billing back the tenants for all their electric usage.

It can also become clogged if the tenants flush inappropriate material or items.

It can also become clogged if the tenants flush inappropriate material or items.

However, this gives little wiggle room and I'd much prefer to find a way to make the tenants responsible, not only because it will reduce my costs, but also because it will reduce overall usage and be much more Earth-friendly. 

You can submeter the water usage for each tenant.  

We charge them for the utility usage and then they pay us a fee for each utility bill we receive. 

Almost any building with at least two units of different usage qualifies for mixed-use financing.Conventional loans underwritten to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac guidelines are an option as long as the loan amount meets conventional limits.