Electric all the way in a rental unless you are talking very high end.

With an electric unit, will some say they miss or prefer the nostalgia, look, feel of real vs electric?

If you plan to hold long term, separate utilities and go heat pumps for the new units: they provide heating, cooling, and dehumidification for the basement, play well with tenant-paid electricity, and the rebate lowers your net cost.

I am a young electrical engineer that is excited to start investing into real estate.

I have to do $5k worth of electric work to split the electric so the tenants will be responsible.

  ( this is very LOW )   But I'm stuck with them until March 2019.Taxes ~$2200 / yr Insurance: $98 / moTenants pay Electric, Owner pays all others - gas (steam) heat, water, sewer, landscaping, snow removalI can easily raise these to 800+ in their current condition. 

Before you swing a hammer, confirm clean title, redeemed taxes, code liens, and permit history; get utilities on and do a full safety check: roof, foundation, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, and sewer.

For sure for big cosmetic projects, electrical, and putting in completely new hvac.

The MEP engineer assumed a gas oven was required, but after confirming with the restaurateur that electric was acceptable, we switched to an electric setup. 

But once you’re talking about bigger projects that touch plumbing, electrical, or anything structural, that’s when a licensed contractor is the smarter move.