I've seen the Speed Queen SF series recommended in a few places.

Recommend:1) Speaking with a landlord-tenant attorney about your options2) Keeping an eye on the property -> ask your old neighbors to do so if you are too far away.3) Try to do a surprise visit to catch who else may be staying there.

I’m curious if anyone would recommend to not post a listing at this time of the year, as it hurts the listing by sitting and you lose a lot of the “New Listing!”

Years ago we didn't require it and just recommended it to the tenant, but it's so cheap and gives our insurer something/someone to abrogate against should we have to make a claim that we don't allow it to be optional anymore. 

This way, they’ll have a vested interest in maintaining high standards of management.To truly understand property dynamics and support the management team, I recommend spending time on-site.

Then, I would recommend connecting with STR specific realtors in a given market.

Some carriers require limited water damage coverage depending on the age of the property and age of utilities.I would recommend at least 25% (ideally more) when possible and if you're limited to 10% you should make sure you cannot purchase another policy for a similar price.

I would recommend keeping them, and gradually increasing rent on par with market increase + 1 to 2%.You could get a better qualified tenant, but they could be worse with money management, property respect, etc.

BiggerPockets also has a calculator to analyze deals, and I highly recommend you start this as soon as possible, even if you are not ready to buy.

I'd recommend checking out the Midwest market.