Please correct me if I am wrong but renters insurance covers the renter and his or her property, not the property itself or the renters willful damage or neglect.

With two units available, if one remains vacant, the rental income from the other unit can help cover your mortgage costs. 

My house came with a home warranty company that sucks so bad they caused more problems than they helped with and I've had to pay for all the repairs that were covered under warranty anyway. 

So the kids are leaning on the screens, which is a HUGE SAFETY HAZARD!

Forget the lawsuit forget the money from getting new cover.

Understanding the local market there, like rental rates and property trends, is crucial but hard to do from far away.Finding a reliable property manager is vital for tasks like tenant screening and repairs.

Some people consider last year's actuals to cover the expenses and forget about vacancy allowance, expense percentage, CAPEX, etc.

However, it is likely that I will want to use my commissions to fund repairs, use as a down payment, or even cover expenses on these investment properties.

If seller are planning ahead, they usually want enough down payment to cover the recapture tax due in the first year.The real benefit I *think* (someone more knowledgeable than me please chime in here) is that if say he passes away after one year, the rest of balance due on would be 'stepped up' to the current value, so no tax due to the heirs.Dan Dietz

Add 3 more months of monthly expenses ( including utilities, insurance etc) to cover the vacancy of potentially distressed property.