Years ago, I could file claims for small, even minimal, damages on my rental properties, like a few fence pieces blown off during a storm.

And who should be held liable for the damage?

I had one particular vendor with high standards that would exaggerate anything he found.My rule of thumb: people can live how they want to live as long as they are not 1. damaging the property2. living in filth that attracts pests3. impacting the neighbors (e.g. odors, junk detracting from the neighborhood, etc)4. creating an unsafe situation (e.g. hoarding and rescue workers can't access the home)When I visit a property, I document any issues and talk to the tenant.

But since you said Helene was a flood damage, you might be able to use that first to get the coverage.

**Local Community Development Programs**: Cleveland might have community development block grants or local initiatives aimed at improving rental properties in specific neighborhoods, particularly if you’re providing affordable housing.7.

A tenant who fails to maintain a rental property could end up costing you more in property damage and court fees than the amount of rent they're paying you upfront. 

Should be at least 10%.3) What about tenant damages and nonperformance?

AND with STRs you have no risk of evictions (which can get to be real expensive depending on the area)  and most damages that guests do are covered by insurance (either through the rental platform it was booked through or sometimes the property management firm has added insurance too).As someone that build a large long term rental portfolio here in Illinois (I still have 40+ houses here) and somebody now building a portfolio in tennessee, I would definitely recommend looking at new construction in some of these str areas. 

I think the biggest block to getting anything like this accepted is building codes. 

Often one block is fine and then the next is bad so it's definitely an area you want to visit and research closely before investing.