That consists of buying a single family home with some form of separate living space to rent out as a STR and help offset living expenses.The DownsideLenders Calculate STR/MTR Rental Income Differently- From a lender's perspective, any rental income received on a term less than 12 months is NOT calculated the same way a traditional long term rental is.

Most states would recognize this and help you out.

For example, collecting three months of rent upfront helped you avoid missed rent, but even that could have backfired if they missed more than three payments.

Maybe I can help connect some dots. 

This may help you figure out an optimal down payment percentage that may be somewhere between the 3.5% and the 40% that could give you a higher CoC return.

BP has various tools to help you analyze your deals (rentals, flips, wholesale, etc). : https://www.biggerpockets.com/investment-calculators7.

Hope this helps! 

You want an accountant who can help you strategize and who is responsive when you want to know the consequences of the financial decisions you are making throughout the year.Good luck.

I own rental properties in one city and two of them had insurance claims in the last 2 years due to hail and tree damage. I just purchased a rental in another state/city and am getting turned down for insurance due to...

I can't help with that.Regarding insurance, you will need a STR policy.