As I will be new on the market (even tho I have read and search for most of the things which impact the investment decision) I do lack the experience on the US market.

Broad based strong economyWorld class education and healthcareManufacturing, high tech, you name it, the biggest names are hereAmusements, professional sports, recreation and cultural venuesThe beachPerfect year round weatherTourists and business people visit from around the worldEvery mid to major airline flies in to both Orange County and LAXBEST OF ALL - Qualified tenants and buyers. 

Sounds like you need to get set up on some electronic payment plans for you tenants sake as well as your own...But i do get what your saying. personal accountability for your check book is lacking in our culture. 

Insurance may or may not satisfy the plaintiff's demands or the judgement entered against you.Business entity structures are there to prevent or lessen the impact of litigation should someone believe they have cause to sue and reduce the likelihood of that litigation being prosecuted successfully.

As an investor in real estate we too should be mindful of how this season will impact us as well.  

Unless you want to be responsible for watering your landscape or letting it die which not only diminishes the value of your property but impacts the neighborhood as a whole.

Helping tenants with things that are against your business rules will impact your business success.

Everyone involved needs to know anything which may have an impact on their standing in the deal.Yet another reason to get educated - you're quite right.

For us we were able to scrap enough to buy a house often enough that not selling our precious few houses didn't negatively impact us.

@Kyle Vandever I would definitely consider duplexes, though 4-plexes/small apartments have more initial appeal to me (less impact of a single vacancy on cashflow and fewer locations for the same number of units).