Problem
3. Rene purchased a large 2-story house with 5 bedrooms. He wants make one room available for rent. He will collect rental income and wants it to be enough to cover about \( 75 \% \) of all his utility bills for the whole house. His water bill is \( \$ 45 \) per month. His electricity bill is an average of \( \$ 85 \) per month. His gas bill ranges from \( \$ 50 \) to \( \$ 230 \) per month. In his neighborhood, he also has to pay a garbage fee of \( \$ 15 \) per month for trash collection. How much would you recommend he charge his renter? Explain.
Solution
Step 1 ：1. Total utility bills: water + electricity + gas + garbage = \( 45 + 85 + \frac{50 + 230}{2} + 15 \) = \( 45 + 85 + 140 + 15 \) = \( \$ 285 \)
Step 2 ：2. Cover 75% of the total utility bills: \( 0.75 * 285 = \$ 213.75 \)
Step 3 ：3. Recommended rental price: \( \$ 213.75 \)
