Not to worry in charleston the BAR regulations are quite stiff.. 

Tourism is the natural economic growth area for the region,  and so not much can be expected until Covid runs its course, and then the whole world will be trying to get back on its feet and the competition for tourist dollars will be stiff.  

So if you get them to sign in upfront you already have their information and they might be more willing to not stiff you.     

Most importantly, having a judgment on a credit report serves as a warning to future landlords, so it makes it harder for people who stiff landlords to rent in the future.

If the utilities are in their name they might remember to shut off the water while they chat and if they don't no skin off your nose.Another thing to keep in mind is that sewer charges are often related to water consumption so excess water use bites twice.Sure once in a while you may get a tenant that stiffs you and if they have other damages you might end up eating the cost of a few months of utilities once every 10 years but that pales compared to the lost funds when you pay them yourselves every month on every property for those 10 years.

Competition is stiff on the larger MF deals especially in core markets. 

I just took 5 hours of my CA Brokers CE and there was a whole page on unlicensed activity and EP ( equity purchasers) fines are stiff and on the EP the sellers have a 2 year right of redemption..

you could do that but there are stiff fees for cash advances but I guess if you do that and your credit score doesn't take a huge hit then fine but not the way I would do it.

The competition in Columbus is stiff.

Single family homes here don’t cash flow and the competition is stiff.