We put this in our offers to differentiate ourselves from other offers and we can write off this expense as a tax deduction.

I would be interested in this information too.

Used enirely OPM to buy this one, and borrowed money from a family member who is in commercial real estate to do the renovation.

Worked with an agent via a referral and landed this centrally located home that comes with a 1BR/1BA casita in the back.

How well or poorly have properties in this area appreciated/rents increasedWhat property managers will manage the property, if any?  

We seem to have a great property manager at this point. 

I have made do for the last 15 years with spreadsheets, MINT, and this past year, Simplifi. 

I'm willing to help this person in any way I can.

If the figure of $1200 is being floated on the listing it’s highly possible the current owner is locked in and grandfathered at this price and even if you get a policy with the same insurance company your policy will be significantly more expensive.

I would still use a Hard Money Lender for something like this - some have a minimum but you may just have to search for a bit and find one that doesnt.