1% is common my neck of the woods but I heard in some higher end competitive markets they go as high as 10%

1) you get a partner who's willing to put up the down payment. no (reputable) lending institution would stick their neck out like this without some skin in the game from you. but a partner might be willing to bridge that gap for the both of you. or you could explore private money (someone you personally know) who might be willing to do the financing for you and take on a little more risk than an institution would be. 2) totally reasonable and do-able. just be cautious of property tax reassessment in switching title from personal to LLC, some counties will hit you with this.

From fines for non-permitted work, no insurance coverage for unauthorized improvements, to injury/death liabilities for constructive knowledge of defects. 

Definitely already a lot of good advice in here, and congrats on moving to our neck of the woods.

Guys with neck tats that drive jacked up 4x4s that chew tobacco in their sleep. 

Hopefully it doesn't.As for liability, the burden to prove that you're negligent in a situation after a third-party property damage or bodily injury claim is up to the suing party (your neighbor or their tenant). 

Areas where there are many side by side duplexes tend to have lower values overall, at least in my neck of the woods. 

I don't need to tell them again that bouncing on a trampoline may result in injury or that cooking small animals in microwaves may result in death of the animal. 

But if the visitor’s injury is due to the tenant’s fault (i.e. tenant's failure to clear the slippery floor), then premises liability coverage would help but not personal liability, right?   

That is, a "Liability" if you don't have the proper insurance to cover what life throws at you, your asset/investment property becomes a albatross around your neck.