. $10k later they are off my back.Three months later…We closed on this duplex in New London a month ago to house hack a bit and live mortgage free.Took me awhile to find an insurance company because of the age/size and style of the property (it’s 5600 sqft, Victorian built in 1900).We ended up going with State Farm.Usual thing happened; guy comes out and takes a look, gives a few things we should “look at”.Tells me about a tree that needs trimming and a set of stairs on the deck needs repaired; no big deal.Two weeks after closing we get a call from SF that we have been “randomly” selected for a 3rd party inspection.Two week after that we get a call from the agent saying we now have 4 things we must complete to include CUTTING said tree down, replacing windows, fixing the stairs and now I have to paint the CEDAR shingles on the garage because only half of it is painted.As you would expect, I took this news very well and only raised my voice with the guy a little.He told me I had 60 days to fix or start the repair and that a letter would be issued on the 20th of August.Silly me, I though this letter would outline what I needed to complete.NOPE, it was a letter from SF saying that my coverage was declined and was accompanied with a refund check for my premium.Turns out that 60 days is from the date when the policy was issued, not the date of this letter.So we are now 30 days into the 60 days repair window and I’m just now getting the information… Oh and that 60 days also include a couple days to insure the agent has time to come out and re-inspect and send it to underwriting.So my 60 day window was actually only 20.Additionally, every time I call them to ask a question, I get yet another list of things I should fix.Stop giving me your opinion about what you think I should do and tell the required recommendations you need me to do so I don’t lose my insurance policy!

The population there has actually declined over the last 10 years, so I'm not sure the rental demand is that strong.

Are rents stable, in the rise or declining?

Colorado Springs has about 4,000 licensed real estate agents and 94% of first-year licensees will not renew their license (per the local MLS).As an example, I was recently invited to partner on an off-market wholesale deal that I had to decline because being a broker was a complicating factor that would unnecessarily hinder the deal.

@John ThomsonMetrics you could look at may include you markets vacancy rate, DOM’s, and market trends with rent increase or declines.

Beware of declining midwestern towns. 

The population decline started when local college graduates moved to larger cities for higher paying jobs. 

You can also disclose it and decline to fix it. 

Even if values decline or if credit markets tighten, you still end up with a good cash-flowing rental unit.

If you're leaving a job delivering Domino's pizza, spending 6 months finishing an MBA and going to work as a financial analyst somewhere else, I'd say get the loan now, but I might not say that if you bought the property for $200k and now it's worth $160 and the area is declining - then I might say just sell the place.