What's the general strategy to allow the biggest flexibility? 

Were fairly experienced but the biggest area we are probably going to need help in is rebuilding our deal machine and possibly some networking to find deals.

One of my biggest questions on this is if we end up doing this if we need to have any kind of special insurance for renting cabins like that?.

@Chiante CraytonOne of the biggest producers in my town of Birmingham, Alabama just moved to eXp.

@Ashley Crump My biggest mistake starting out was giving my contractors too much money up front.

I would say the biggest thing here is to know your market.

Although i believe if you're completely new and plan on contracting out most of the work, its more important to study the areas, network and vet your people than to worry about the WHERE - theres certainly upsides for focussing solely on markets outside your own, its certainly doable and a lot of people do it, even (or maybe especially) when your starting out, the added risk can be minimized and downsides you cant eliminate may be worth the upsides.

The biggest issue here is that the seller understands your opinion of the value (so give them a CMA), and if they choose to sell it for significantly more or less than that, its certainly their prerogative to do so.

What are the downsides of purchasing a mobile home as a rental property?

The biggest downside is that your return on investment will be lower due to the lack of leverage.