IN my case the women were much better negotiating and closing than the  men the men were there for safety.. this is just reality of the day.. not sexist.. 

I was told here and there that renting out a SFH that has keyed entry bedroom door knobs (standard single cylinder and turn-button on the other side) is a fire hazard and against some kind of code or, if not, makes you liable for fire hazard dangers. 

I really don't know more than the basic safety and mitigation approaches for asbestos, but I would look closely at your tenant's overall situation, how reliable they seem, and if they have a history of causing issues.  

If the property has any health or safety hazards, VA will require that you fix them before moving in. 

The 30 year gives you the added flexibility (and safety) of choosing your payment schedule as you go, at the expense of a slightly higher interest rate.

And $550 for a primary residence.If your property is considered Higher risk (A flood zone) I like to use this link  https://hazards-fema.maps.arcgis.com/ to look at the flood zone maps.

More of a safety-net in my eyes, in-case something unexpected happens or plans change before I move to the next property.

But what I really want is the freedom to be able to take risk like start my own business, get into a startup, etc. but have a basic safety net or backstop in place in case things don't work out.  

It will be a fire hazard and render all of the apartments illegal if you tear down that back deck without replacing it immediately...unless there's another means of egress (which I doubt).You can finance it with hard money, do the repairs and refi which I believe will be a 6 month process.

For many, certain real estate investments are a flight to safety versus alternatives.