I'm sure you have a great read on your local market but I'd recommend refraining from pretending to be an expert on a market you clearly know little about.Good luck!

Don't be suckered into buying cheap properties - unelss you know exactly what you are getting into.Here's some copy & paste advice that applies to just about any Midwest rental market:--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Recommend you first figure out the property Class you want to invest in, THEN figure out the corresponding location to invest in.Property Class will typically dictate the Class of tenant you get, which greatly IMPACTS rental income stability and property maintenance/damage by tenants.If you apply Class A assumptions to a Class B or C purchase, your expectations won’t be met and it may be a financial disaster.If you buy/renovate a property in Class D area to Class A standards, what quality of tenant will you get?

Recommend exploring as many sources as possible to get referrals AND cross-reference them to get as much accurate information as possible.Check out NARPM.com, BP’s Property Manager Finder (BiggerPockets: The Real Estate Investing Social Network), etc.Also, encourage you to learn from the mistakes of others - by reading posts here on BiggerPockets about owners not having their expectations met by their current Property Management Company.

I would 100% recommend that in whatever market you choose to invest in , that you form a relationship with a good property manager, as that can make-or-break how well your LTR goes. 

When investing in high cash-flow markets, I always recommend working with an investor friendly agent so you're able to gain the right insight on the different areas and the risks involved.

I recommend reaching out to 2-3 PMs and then using tools like Zillow and Rentometer to get a full picture.

@John Lasher if you want to focus on MF, especially in the North Florida markets, I highly recommend you speak to Beau Beery.

What would you recommend?

If these type of damages occur in the future, I would recommend holding the tenants deposit, or if there is a claim to be made through the insurance you sell them you could approach that avenue.

BiggerPockets also has a calculator to analyze deals, and I highly recommend you start this as soon as possible, even if you are not ready to buy.