Cash flow has been hampered by an increase in cost of ownership recently, specifically insurance. 

Here's a fundamental explanation to get your juices flowing:Assume a house costs $200,000 and rents for $1,500.

I absolutely agree with manually checking the competitions pricing.

Remember, I sent a signed and amended the agreement on November 28th, sent it to them for signature, received confirmation of their receipt, wired funds, requested multiple times they send me the fully executed agreement, never received a fully executed copy back from them and finally was questioned by them yesterday as to why I altered the agreement (meaning there was no meeting of the minds since it's therefore proven that they didn't even look at it).I have rescinded my offer to enter into a contract with Estate Legal for lead generation services and am now seeking a full refund, including my cost of wiring the funds. 

@Joseph BinkowskiDon’t forget that you can now be qualified as an accredited investor by passing the series 65 exam without any income or net worth requirements.It will cost you around $200 to $300 and will be valid for 2 years (unless you can park your license with a financial advisor firm, then it will last as long as you maintain it).It is not a difficult exam and you should be able to pass it with around 40 hours of self study with a good prep book or website.

I understand I can increase liability in each individual landlord policy, but one single umbrella policy is much more cost effective when I have multiple properties.

Insurance cost for weather-related disasters is growing to a major concern in many of the southern markets.

For most investors, to provide true separation would be cost prohibitive (between $10k-$15k). 

I agree with Collin.The Smokies do have a lot of competition, so you need to have a view, decent location, good to great amenities etc to stand out.We have a 6-bedroom cabin there, but I imagine a 3 to 4 bedroom would be in the sweet spot of not too big or not too small.

I can't get the sense for the cost of their "Stage 2" service and they won't disclose it.