The owner paid utilities/expenses are high.

So far I have in my mind these positions: new contracts with the utility companies, arrange an insurance, tenant notification letter.What else should be added to the list?

It is by far the most expensive city to operate in - tolls, highest tax rate, inspection fees,  required utility deposits regarless of credit, etc.  

But the tools and the technology was already in place to utilize.

I’d like to keep it SFH because it maximized bedrooms and means tenants can cover utilities. 

Only time will tell and my ability to market to my target/niche customers. 

One is a SFH, one is a duplex...the SFH is larger, will netmore $/mo because I won’t pay utilities... very similar in finishes, the duplex a little more updated.... but it appraised for 243 and the SFH only 164k... are Duplexes just valued higher in high rental neighborhoods?

Most of us who gather data and sell lists, sell the lists for less than you can gather it yourself for as we spread the costs across multiple customers.

Keep good records of timeline, costs (including utilities), and copies of the rental advertising so you can prove that you were attempting to mitigate losses if it is ever questioned.If your lease contains a lease-break clause with something different than attempting to mitigate then it will usually supersede.

Our question falls around the utilization of an LLC.