Lets say they loose their belongings (furniture, clothing, electronics, kitchen wares, etc.) there would be coverage for them to be made whole.Good job requiring your tenants to have renter's insurance - it's as beneficial to them as it is to you as the investor! 

Style of house and year it was built.

Thinks 1980-1990 style.- Appliances were old and built in.- Previous owner was a do it your-self kind of guy and did a lot of it wrong.Now the biggest mistake I think out of all of these is not realizing that the family member was an alcoholic.

It takes a buttload of time, effort, and money to clean that up, and it doesn't just go away after a couple weeks - somebody has to scrub that crap off the walls, floors, cabinets, vents, curtains, furniture, clothes - literally EVERYTHING. 

There are SO many ways to be successful, you can adopt a way that fits with your style and still have success.

If you want to live in the cheapest rent area, look for 4-plex, but once you are there, you don’t want to live there...Gangster, drugs, robbery, break-in...Bikes all the over the places, clothes hanging on the patio for sun drying, very messy look... neighborhood are extremely run down, doesn’t look good at all...After looking at the run down and very ugly 4-plex area, most investors don’t have the appetite to invest there at all...Sorry for the negative comments...But it is the truth feeling...

Ask any good real estate investor, there is tremendous value in a house that exhibits great curb appeal and displays an unadulterated architectural style. 

Manufacturers change their shingle style often to push for more replacement than repair options. 

so I have a 1200 SQ FT open concept chalet style (timber frame from timer onsite, white stucco very nice). 

In the areas of Connecticut I operate in (which is basically the entire state) there are many more up/down duplexes available as opposed to side by side style.