Try asking them if they can tell you if the utilities are no longer in your name.Ask if they have some sort of landlord arrangement where the utilities automatically revert to your name if the tenant disconnects.

3-will they automatically report my payments to the credit bureaus or do I have to specifically instruct them?

The amount spent to renovate or improve the property does not automatically equate to an equal value increase.

I then set up my charges as memorized monthly recurring charges so they hit on the first of each month automatically each month; then simply enter the receipts and deposit them.

To me it looks like their software automatically inflates the number just to keep deductibles high.

In addition, gas and water/sewer let you sign up for automatic reversion to owner, but electric will only let you do it if you have more than 10 properties, so another headache, and PMs don't want to do it in their name.

The system will automatically ban you for doing this.

In some areas there are incentives for closing within 30 days, 45 days and 60 days, but they are not granted unless asked for but are automatic and do not affect your bid.

It's more forgiving if you buy and hold but still should be an automatic part in your due diligence process.

I download them into my excel spreadsheet which automatically tells me my max offer based on the square footage/subdivision.