Other utilities are my responsibility.

Which utilities can I legally require the tenant to pay?

Quick BackgroundMy spouse and I are 100% disabled veterans in Northern Virginia (close to major employment companies/contractors/tech hubs, Reston Town Center, Metro).We both work in tech, but my spouse will stop working soon(burnout).Goal is early retirement + passive income, not building a huge portfolio, which seems difficult in this HCOLAWe’re not handy, but spouse is considering leaving Tech and going to school full time for carpentry utilizing Post 911 benefitsHave around 150-200k in liquid capital We realize that when one spouse leaves tech, the ability to really pay down a mortgage will be greatly reducedCurrent Property (Owned Free & Clear)Estimated value from Zillow: ~$776,300 (does not include massive kitchen renovation)4 bed / 3 bathEstimated rent: ~$3,500/mo (without renovation included)Scenario 1 (Leaning this way)Use a VA loan to buy a smaller primary residence locally (0% down).

I include utilities, wifi, washer and dryer.

But, what I was wondering; would it be more advantageous to actually go through the process of making it so that utilities are split?

I am a residential investment loan officer and welcome you to utilize me as a resource to help you navigate through and become better educated about lending options.

If you want to minimize the updates, I can see just focusing on the bedrooms and utility room.

., .25 acre lot utilities onsite).

What tools are you utilizing?

I’ve been thinking about a conversation I had recently about marketing agencies.There is the obvious risk everyone talks about (bad results), but there is a quieter, long-term risk that I see capital raisers run into: Dependency.It is very easy to treat marketing like a utility bill: you just pay it to keep the lights on.