Without utilities the house is not habitable and if them paying utilities is part of the lease, then they are in violation of the lease and need to either leave or get the utilities sorted. 

The milestone inspection consists of two phases: a visual examination of habitable and nonhabitable areas of the building in phase one and, if needed, a phase two inspection that may involve destructive or nondestructive testing to fully assess areas of structural distress.

The only time I release a resident from a lease is when there is a habitability issue or to prevent a potential lawsuit.

Thanks for the reply Andrew, do you know if that Fannie Mae loan comes with any strict requirements such as if the house is habitable or using certain contractors etc.?

Real estate investing has a lot of 'gray area' What I'm saying is in most cases it's illegal to accept a commission without being a licensed professional. if you over complicate the thinking from the beginning you'll talk or think yourself out of deals out of habit later on.I'm not sure I can simplify my previous post, but if your still overthinking it, I can try to paint a picture for you.Also don't be so anxious about getting your reale estate license!!!

I agree with @Allan Bishop Jr. finding great networking group to pull information from is vital.

If you get into the habit of having a scope of work prepared for the contractor before they arrive they will only have to put in a fraction of the time to generate a quote for you. 

They are not new but you may not have read them.The Power of Habit - great book for understanding your own and other peoples habits.Hmm, most of the books I can think of have been mentioned on the BP podcasts.Buy and Hold by David Schumacher is great.The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing - great for getting your own house in order.not a book, but a blog - Mr Money Mustache - great for getting your own life focused if Financial freedom is your thing. 

My target is set...if we can work creatively together to achieve both my goal and yours, let's chat.Contractors, buyers agents, property managers, lenders, fellow investors, inspectors, attorneys, and anyone else vital to the REI game, please reach out.

You will receive an Addict award along with a habit; as well as learning and retaining useful real estate information without struggling.We are considered to be the average of the 5 people we spend the most time with so connect with REIA meetings, accountability partners, and mastermind groups to engage with individuals interested in real estate investing.At the bottom of this page is a list with help in it.