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

We have a VA so she does all the tagging and I ask her to export it from Baselane, into excel, then I review it and give comments.Going Digital: Scanning and storing my receipts in real time saves me from searching for that one $17 plumbing supply receipt.

Have the tenants take and send pictures of any maintenance items and video chat with the repair person as needed.If you ever get in a situation where you just feel like you can't do it or don't want to do it, you can always put a PM in place at any time. 

While I get where they’re coming from, there are definitely situations where a buyer asking for an inspection can be totally legitimate.

@Monty Alston sorry to hear about the tough situation that you are in but glad you are being proactive about it.

As a few mentioned, depending on your situation you might have to do a DSCR Cashout (vice conventional investment), and with hard money loans often there is a pre-payment penalty.

A few quick notes before I go into more detail on how I approach situations like this:- As mentioned in other replies, a 401(k) match should (almost) always be taken advantage of.

Quote from @Vince Scipione: Standard would be an FHA loan for your situation more than likely.

When is it a smart situation to get one?

I've received apps in the past where this was the exact situation only for the borrower to not qualify and be stuck.