I would definitely go with a utility cap. 

The PM change the electric utility to the PM's name.

But once I got the bills, I increased the rent with the tenant's approval and signed an addendum to the lease stating the rent increase would be X and the owner would take over utilities.

hi all i am a new landlord and got my first rental property. tenants moved in in September and October. the first month was fine but when December hit it got extremely cold and the heating is electric. due to poor insulation in the home that we did not know about the heat has to be turned very high up to keep the home warm, however since everything is electric it is causing the electric bill to be $800. the utilities are the tenants responsibility. however because of this one of the tenants has been extremely non compliant with paying rent.

At one point I talked to my financially advisor and he said that it would be smart for me to open a HELOC on the property, but not draw from it, except in the case of emergencies.  

Would love to hear your applications and utilize them within my business.

@Kyle Trotman If you purchased with a hard money loan conventional lenders will require extensive seasoning to utilize the new appraised value for cash out. 

I'm a full time agent and investor in the area that works a ton with VA buyers and i LOVE helping people house hack, it is definitely my favorite strategy and my passion helping people do it.

Not to mention they wrote of over $300k worth of taxes for me utilizing a cost segregation study. 

Utilities will be an issue.