And yes this is a 1 in 1000 situation but plenty of other disasters could happen and having the right insurance policy is huge to protecting down side risk. 

Does anyone have any other tips and tricks for helping out the appraisal process so I can get the best out of the situation. also what what other things can I put in the folder to give him or what you've done in the past?

However, this could also portend our own situation in a year's time if we take them. 

If accepting the no parking MTR situation, then the MTR really needs to be pet-friendly (bonus if fenced-in yard) and have laundry (especially in-unit) to make up for the elimination of a key amenity.

Be sure to consult with your CPA to determine if you can utilize these deductions based on your specific tax situation.

We plan to remove them all to protect from tax increases on our current primary, but I am afraid that now that the other properties won't have homesteads, we may see skyrocketing tax bills and it will eat into already small cash flow from rental income.Does anyone have advice for how to handle this situation other than just increasing rent?

So in my situation I have instant booking turned on and didn't have Damage Protection.

I went through a similar situation with two of my rental homes. 

With this additional expense, that would mean depleting the savings we’ve worked so hard to build over the past few years.To add to the situation, my wife and I are expecting our first baby in just two weeks!

To be fair, I've encountered situations where the Section 8 rent received was higher than what cash paying tenants were paying.