I have a degree in environmental science and was once a certified license wilderness EMT.

I know the answer will vary based on risk tolerance but would like to hear what some more seasoned investor's believe is wise.

I think your response rate will vary between sub-markets quite a bit.

The lease laws vary from month to month agreement , to 1 year, to 2 years or more etc.It's all about the details.No legal advice given.

I don't know anything about insurance really but based on my experience and what you're saying it just seems that rates vary wildly. 

I've explained time and again that I will not use my degree and my sole passion is in real estate.

But for some reason some of my pics are loading disoriented to a point where I need to turn them 90 degrees to the right (which I can't do on BP).

But such people absolutely do exist.Court house auctions vary state to state.  

It sounds like this is who you need to talk to: [email protected] ; this stuff often varies by state.

After doing all that, if you are positive every month (i.e. income exceeds expenses), then it is probably a good deal, although the amount of return investors want to see annually varies from person to person.BP has a wonderful calculator that helps you to determine all of this.