Got stuck with utility bills as apparently utilities are tied to property, not the resident (in this case, tenants).

It might be better to utilize a HELOC on property #1.

Common real estate statistics like median home price, Average Days on Market, annual change in home value, # sales, # listings, etc.Which statistics can provide clues to how much inventory of distressed (off-market) deals there will be? 

More traditional things I would suggest, billing back utilities, charging for pets, upgraded finishes to increase rents, charging fees for things like storage or extra parking.Authors I would suggest Ken Mcelroy and Dave Lindahl.

Park manager gets free lot rent 16 lots currently collecting lot rent for gross annual income of 42,168City Water/City Sewer Tenants pay all utilities besides water (water paid by owner)I feel that my expenses as listed in my rough numbers are very low. 

Here in Canada, both commercial and residential mortgage have terms less than 10yrs ... the most common being 5-years, so "balloons" and renewals are the norm.As Omar indicated your primary concern should be running your business as efficiently as you can and maximizing the revenue stream.    

We do not utilize any lead generation services like Thumbtack or Homeadvisor because the ones looking for quotes on those sites only care about who is the lowest.

Student Rental (4BR/1Ba) - $90,000 List PriceOffer: $80,000 purchase price, 3% seller paid closing costs, 20% conventional financingCash Outlay: $20,000 ($16,000 down payment, $4,000 rehab)Rent: $1,240/mth Mortgage Payment (P&I): $344/mth ($64,000 @ 5% interest, 30 year am)Taxes: $133/mthInsurance: $150/mth Vacancy: $112/mth (9% - playing this conservatively)Maintenance: $75/mthCapEx: $125/mthManagement: $149/mth (~12% rents collected, conservatively assuming full occupancy)Utilities: N/A (covered by tenants)I like this deal for a couple of reasons.

With investment property its very common for the investors to give power of attorney and we conduct the closing ourselves. 

However, if the vendor is still personally on title as a tenant-in-common, there may not be a mortgage registered ... in which case, a conventional lender may not see the property at all ... or will simply see a property you own jointly with a another party.That said, you will still be signing an agreement with the conventional lender in which you state that you have disclosed all such debt obligations :-)