Hi Lucas, I had a similar problem with one of tenants when the water, hydro and gas bills went through the roof (I mean an avg. of $250 per bill every month for a detached bunglow) for a couple of months. Not sure about Ottawa, but here in the GTA, Enbridge provides a chart on the back of the...

I would personally prefer a unit that has already been rented out. Ofcourse, you will want to look into who exactly is staying in the units and see if that is something you want to deal with. But, instead of carrying a 4plex emplty for a couple of months, having it rented out definately makes it...

If you can, take the piece of carpet to a wholesaler and find a piece similar to the carpet that you have now. Alot of these places have end-rolls (waste pieces for them) that they cannot sell in quantity to public. Bargain with them, depending on how much you need, you should be able to pick it...