Try and undertake fairly simple projects for your first couple even if the returns are not as impressive as you hope (still make sure there is sufficient profit).

Your primary insurance policy with $300,000 in liability coverage should be sufficient in 99.999% of all lawsuits.5.

If you have sufficient equity, you may be able to leverage it to pay down your mortgage and reduce your monthly payment.

That's what I'm after, so I am paying for convenience and a service, and there may be others that can provide the same service, and potentially even better for cheaper, I'm on the lookout for that and will be evaluating others now that I've got my first under my belt and something to compare it to, but if at the end the work is sufficient and performs as expected then I will be happy with what I paid for the property and not really sweat over a couple grand here or there.  

Photos, video and reviews should be sufficient. 

I just know that when we had french drains installed around the house foundation and redid all the drainage systems in the yard they were 4' deep and they made sure that the slope was sufficient for the task.

At various times during the past 25 years he “specialized” in oil and gas drilling, franchise sales, surgical center investments, office centers, start up incubators, vitamins, mobile washing equipment, cemetery syndications, residential mortgage brokerage, commercial mortgage brokerage, insurance as an investment, long term care insurance, and property development in Mexico.  

.- SS rule - self sufficiency rule - gross rents of all potential units 2-4  X gross rents at 75% needs to meet 1:1 or 100% of the monthly PITIA payment or greater.

Work with a CPA to optimize your tax returns to reflect sufficient income for future loan approvals.

As a general rule of thumb if the property has a ground level commercial requirement in order to show sufficient hardship to seek a residential use change the property should be located in a location that is not conducive to commercial use i.e residential street, close but not as marketable as properties located on neighborhood's primary commercial corridor etc.