I have had clients that did not know this house was vacant 4 months caught fire burnt to the ground .. first thing the adjuster does is interview the neighbors and ask when was the last time anyone was living there.. so same thing here with the freeze you need builders risk / vacant home rider  in these situations. 

You need to have one of the cold weather heat pumps that operate below freezing. 

I know self-managing can save money, but I'm willing to consider the trade-off for peace of mind (especially at first)STR Permit Worries: My property is in Tobyhanna Township, where whispers of an STR permit freeze loom.

They helped my family (4 kids + dog) find a place that was way better than staying at a hotel for the several months we needed accommodation after the big freeze in Texas last year. 

Unfortunately in the last freeze in KC I had a property where some pipes burst.

Commercial apartments have become increasingly harder to insure with many carrier freezing that product line and or taking huge rate increases for habitational products.

Well did not freeze one could still just quit claim it with no title insurance but once the city saw the transfer they hit him with a 5k fine.

So keep in mind that places like Saco, Kennebunk, and Bar Harbor tend to shut down during the winter as we all bundle up and try not to freeze to death for the 3 early months of the year, but during the summer time they are very attractive places to rent for short term rental, but there are other more creative opportunities to those who look outside the box.  

A major expense can wipe out years and years worth of "cashflow'- A property that cash flows on paper is different from a property cashflowing in reality...There are many times additional expenses to be aware of that may come up in some markets that you are not familiar with...in my case some items were pipes freezing over and much higher vacancy than was figured in initial calculations.- Markets that have very high cap rates as a whole such as 8% + are typically markets that are perceived to have much higher risk and likely will have little to no appreciation at best and more likely would depreciate.

Hope their waterpipes didn't freeze.