@Tim Phillips I'd agree with your friends - rentals within driving distance are significantly easier to manage as well as decrease risk during the purchase process (because you can go see the property in person easily).I'd advise you to analyze as many properties as possible in your chosen market so that you have a good feeling for what a good deal in whatever market you pick is.

I'm going to give my answer assuming the underwriting is correct and you've got quotes for your insurance and a few bids (and picked the highest number) for your renovations. 

Who knows if it was sent or if it was even sent in time.The attorney or tenant could have picked up a phone to call you at any time, but they chose not to.I would find a real estate attorney and argue this in court. 

I am not sure what I would pick as the most important ingredient, rather it is an overall recipe that will get results.

So even if you pick a state with stronger protections like WY or NV, the cause of action arose in the state where the tenant fell, so likely that the court where the accident happened would have jurisdiction.

I am afraid your strategy of using additional insured status to circumvent the lender being notified of the change in title ownership will just give your carrier reason not to pick up coverage in the event a claim arises. 

This to me seems akin to going to a bar to pick up chicks.

I might be a little biased because we started purchasing places around 2009/2010 and we were picking up screaming deals all over the place (3/4 of our portfolio is made up of homes we purchased for ten's of thousands of dollars that are now worth hundreds of thousands). 

I still (strongly) believe that supply will pick up in the spring once STR owners are disappointed with 2021 holiday figures, deteriorating property values on the mountain.

We did our first flip in 2018, but we completed several more in 2019, and the pace really picked up.