I work with a couple hundred investors from CA and they prefer the middle/southern part of the country because the price points are much easier and the landlord laws are friendly.

I also thought it’s not much work so will be done in few hundred or thousands dollars.

Maintain proper records - Contracts, Settlement Statements, Agreements, Promissory Notes etc.Additionally, you can track income and expenses consistently, using software or spreadsheets.As you scale, if bookkeeping isn't fun for you, consider hiring a bookkeeper for a couple hundred bucks per month.

Might as well have chipped countertops and broken cabinets. 

A successful investor's time may be worth hundreds of dollars per hour.

Obviously this depends on whats what but if its a 2 or 3 bedroom and things like cabinets do not have to be redone, its a pretty simple operation. 

In the summer, we literally pay landscapers hundreds of thousands of dollars and they get the winters off.

Finish the ceiling and put a cabinet door over that panel or hang a picture.

The owner’s $500k liability coverage wouldn’t have been adequate to address all the damages.An umbrella policy, often costing just a few hundred dollars, can provide an extra layer of protection and peace of mind by covering liabilities beyond your primary policy limits.

A little bit of background, I own and manage several hundred doors in the Metro Detroit area and have been active in the investing community since 2003.