Much of the cost of renovating the unit will be borne by me, and a fair amount will be now covered by insurance; the carpets have burn marks, the walls have got large brown areas, doors have been kicked in, there will be lost rent due to re-hab.

Sure, they tell you to "build your team" but they never mention that you're going to have to go through the experience of getting burned quite a few times in order to build your team.

Is it burned?

I have thought seen some nasty forest fires started by laymen trying to burn wasp nests from their eves.

I made money but then got burned when our family friend financial advisory made some stupid decisions with my money.I sold a lot of stock to buy my primary residence in Los Angeles. 

Wife is frightful about getting burned by contractors, agents and just not knowing what all is involved. 

As they say,,,, Pigs get fat, HOGS get slaughtered. 

The last thing you want to do is burn a bridge with an agent that might be a good source of leads down the road.  

And if you find a good one you can even walk away with a big fat check at closing.

Liability covers losses like leaving candles burning, house burned down because of their negligence, etc....Water in the basement not due to flood is most often an excluded risk, whether you are a tenant or a homeowner or a landlord.