First, i would not furnish the places, it will probably get trashed, let them get there own furnishings and make sure that the lease says they must remove them from the property when they leave. i would have them pay for utilities, to an extent - have them pay for electric, supply the heat but give them an allowance for certain amount of months ( especially if you have older furnaces and they run on oil heat ) if they go over then you charge them for it. i converted mine to gas with new furnaces, i include heat in mine, but i control the thermostat ( online, thermostat is locked at the house ). i also provide water / sewer and free internet.

I have seen here on BP, and also seen some marketing emails that promise passive investment opportunities where I pay a promised sum and the company purchases the house, flips it, rent's it and manages them.

Just trying to get general info re: zoning, general costs, obstacles one might encounter, etc and possible networking opportunities to chat further.

I definitely believe the same thing that many of these homes have a lot of life and opportunity in the them.

If you find a lender who does online appraisals or creative structuring, you might be able to find a 2nd lender.

My preference is buy & hold opportunities, but ultimately I'm open to all ideas.  

Does that reduce their borrowing capacity for future opportunities? 

I've read some articles online about how LA is cracking down on landlords who boot rent control tenants out and convert their units into Airbnb rentals. 

You can post what you do in your profile (and we encourage you to do so) but the only other place you can talk about your company or the services you offer is in the Marketplace.We do this to keep the forums free from spam and junk that clogs up most other online forums.

On BP, you not only learn how to get deals done correctly, but also have an opportunity to network with other real estate investors and learn form the informative forums based on BP everyday!