If you are setting aside funds for capex, taxes, insurance, or other expenses that don't occur monthly, transfer those funds to Savings each month and hold them there until it's time to spend them.

On insurance side of things, there is a lot of variables.

Also you should inquire with insurance agents about the cost to insure.

Possibly already permitted outbuildings that already have plumbing such as workshops, offices, etc might be able to be converted to an ADU at a cost that does not result in the cost being more than the value added.Building an ADU is a lot of work and can be a slow process.  

I'm scared of how much my insurance will go up after the LA fires but there is a cap with CA regulations and also being dropped. 

My payment with insurance & taxes is $1425 a month.

A Illegal simply starts a business entity , gets an EIN and insurances .

Tampa can work, but yes, taxes and insurance are higher and might keep cash flow tight.

Living in one unit and renting out the others allows you to deduct 75% of expenses like mortgage interest, property taxes, insurance, and shared repairs as rental expenses, while the remaining 25% applies to personal use.

We were initially looking out of state for a potential move and or investment property just because the property taxes without being able to homestead, plus high cost of insurance, and harsh weather on homes made me feel like it might not be worth it.