I prefer markets that experience mild winters to eliminate the added costs brutal winters can bring. 

@Katie Lyon Because our weather is more temperate over the winter months, we have much more consistency in demand across all times of the year, so typically the market stays fairly consistent through all seasons.

I happen to live in AZ in the winter and MI in the summer. 

Dead in the winter, great in the summer.

However, they didn't insulate that building well so in winter residents consistently get heating bills over $200/mo. 

Snow plowing is an emergency service , we are on call 24/7 for the entire winter , the prices you pay cover the salt that we stock , the prep for each storm , the desalting of the trucks , the overtime .

The off peak is late winter/early spring (March to May) and we've had no less than 30% occupancy with an average of around 45%. 

Those failures are  more negligent than a PM allowing a guest who paid with expectation to stay at the house to remain there in the middle of winter when they arrived on a Friday evening as you described.For now you will have to rely upon insurance, I don't believe the PM acted unreasonably given the circumstances.

Also being a winterized foreclosure the sudden rush of water probably broke some things loose in the pipes. 

For investors, this makes this winter a great time to acquire your next deal.To be clear, any correction, in my opinion, will not be related to an economic slowdown, but rather the opposite.