Being 100% financed is very risky and I would be leery especially with the market being tricky. 

-The mention of syndication being less risky than HML...I'd suggest it is more risk, possibly much much more since you don't know whether you are good or bad at vetting the operator right now.

I think the risk is similar and probably even less likely with midterms, particularly since you should always have a lease agreement for your midterm rentals whereas people rarely do this for short terms.

With it being that risky, the least I could do is have some money saved up.

It could make already risky investments even riskier.

But having a 1 mil plus home with no insurance seems a tad risky given the wild fire situation. 

Quote from @V.G Jason: Quote from @Chris Seveney: $5Mhard money lendin at $10% = $500k a year which is $40k/mo+ if you can make it with $1M that risk is close to betting on a roulette wheel.  

In that scenario Section 8 tenants are the least risky tenant base. 

My MTR tenants are less risky than my LTR tenants were.

Knoxville isn't a luxury market. widen the gap and do new construction. find infill plots of land in better locations and have more control. work closely with a builder who Is working with investors. we have flippers who did hundreds of flips then they graduate to new builds and say it's much easier. if you have the balance sheet you'll be fine. budget 20%. new construction commands a 20% premium and is much easier to duplicate Over and over and much less risk. I