Census.gov is a good free site to analyze economic data, population forecasts and identify trends.

HELOCs fluctuate with the interest rate so you need to forecast if you have enough funds to cover yourself in the event of hardships where the interest rate rises, rental rates drop, vacancy rates increase etc. 

I understand the weather has been disruptive, but maybe they could have cut their fees in order for you to cash flow a bit.I would vet his company to see how they perform on the sell side.  

We try to keep 100k available among our accounts to cover anything that comes up so we can weather the storms (but we also are nearing 50 properties).

You can also use this as a negotiation tool with the seller to show him the returns as the cap rate is a great tool but you need to forecast your levered IRR to see where the investment really turns out as the current cap rate does not show deferred maintenance /capex in most instances

All studies are forecasting increasing rents. 

Accounting, forecast, budgets, actuals, analysis.

Some gated communities have complaints of break ins, some people have horror stories about the new construction.Although in theory this area sounds like a slam dunk (popular attractions nearby, weather decent year round, allowance of STR in gated communities), perhaps so many people are thinking this it’s causing problems.  15-20 years ago Windsor Hills places were selling for about what they are now.If anyone has seriously looked into the STR area here, I’d be interested to hear your thoughts.  

Although Homeowners losses are infrequent they can come in groups (usually due to weather). 

Well they were back logged, so we closed in October of 2017 and the rehab wasn't going to start until April or May of this year, depending on weather.