Crime in Little Rock is significantly lower than most cities it's the way the city is zoned it looks high based on the old city limits and population.

I know lots of installers don't do it, and I personally prefer the unimpeded look, but anything installed outside of the requirements of the material is probably going to be limited, i.e. the insurance company is not going to pay you because the material was not installed according to flooring requirements. 

Many companies are also limiting the claim for mold.

An example of that is tenant must pay for additional electric over flat fee / flat limit since now there is 2 occupants in the home instead of originally one.

For many years, I've been studying and following this community to dive into the world of real estate as an investor.

https://nationalmortgageprofessional.com/news/study-reveals-....Not sure BP will allow that link to post, if not just google " 10000 saved using a broker vs direct lender" and you can find the article.On the flip side, there are some banks and credit unions that could offer products that they do not allow to be brokered.

Dan makes a great point - you want to be clear of any areas that are working on limiting the ability to rent OR cap your rental potential.

If you study on your own, you will have gaps, but you may end up with $25,000=$50,000 in real estate. 

That limit was recently bumped up to a $100M maximum.

Tenants in many markets already believe they pay too much (contrary to recent studies that show rent to property values have never been lower for the large US cities).If my insurance costs are not double my current rates over the next couple years, I will be pleasantly surprised.