Tim, in lieu of a damage deposit, have you utilized A deposit insurance such as Rhino? 

I have, however, gotten other tenant types form Zillow - mostly insurance relocation claims

Using escrow company & title insurance will protect you from an unwanted surprise.

Quote from @Kar Sun: My tenant's lease is coming to a close and I am relieved she will be moving soon.She has been paying on time but has been extremely unpleasant and rude.While the money does not smell my mental sanity is more important than money in this case.She sent me a registered letter stating that she feels "unsafe because we have not done the fixes the way she wanted it".She requests to have her witness for a walkthrough.In my state a walkthrough is required but I am not about to grant it to her to bring any witnesses as that is not in my contract.If she feels unsafe she does not have t be present.I also do not treat a final walkthrough with a tenant as a final sign off.This walkthrough does not include a detailed inspection of the plumbing and the appliances that will be done after she departs.This is simply for the visible cosmetic issues and should take less than 1 hr.  

Licensed and Insured, of course.

All the hard money lenders I've worked with in the past (and the one I currently work for) deem an appraisal necessary for risk management purposes to insure AIV and ARV estimates are good.Curious how you'd manage risk without one? 

We are finding conflicting information as it pertains to insurance and liability. 

I own a lot more than 2 homes and all these years later still have never bothered with LLCs - I just keep really good insurance.

I don't think it should matter if the deal is seller financed, cash, or hard money; the title search and insurance process should be the same.

I was wondering if anyone had any tips or tricks for this area dealing with the insanely high property tax and insurance rates?