what is damage protection insurance? 

One of the biggest challenges of investing in Rustbelt cities is knowing where to invest and properly understanding the cooresponding pros & cons.Here's copy & paste advice we share to help to address this challenge:-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Recommend you first figure out the property Class you want to invest in, THEN figure out the corresponding location to invest in.Property Class will typically dictate the Class of tenant you get, which greatly IMPACTS rental income stability and property maintenance/damage by tenants.If you apply Class A assumptions to a Class B or C purchase, your expectations won’t be met and it may be a financial disaster.If you buy/renovate a Class A property in Class D area, what quality of tenant will you get?

Check for cracks in the foundation, condition of the mechanicals, any water coming into the basement, etc. 

Water in San Diego is real expensive.  

It's the same idea.FYI I've seen subto contracts which provide for ~$50,000 in liquidated damages against a seller that reports the sale to the lender and that results in the loan being called.

@Jeff SkinnerRecommend you first figure out the property Class you want to invest in, THEN figure out the corresponding location to invest in.Property Class will typically dictate the Class of tenant you get, which greatly IMPACTS rental income stability and property maintenance/damage by tenants.If you apply Class A assumptions to a Class B or C purchase, your expectations won’t be met and it may be a financial disaster.If you buy/renovate a property in Class D area to Class A standards, what quality of tenant will you get?

This also allows for property owners to more easily write-off assets that get damaged/destroyed as the value of these assets is determined as part of the study.

So it takes comprehensive knowledge of the market trends, zoning laws, the local municipalities approval process, survey cost, subsoil conditions, irrigation requirements, development cost, utilities (gas, power and internet), city water or well water, city sewer or POSW to name just a few...A builder developed the farm field next to our SD, bought it for $1.5M and wanted to build 25 homes as a conservancy subdivision.

•Systems: Servicing the HVAC system, replacing the water heater, and updating the electrical panel.The renovation was completed in 13 weeks and totaled approximately $35,600.

The water may be backing up from another fixture that is not draining properly.