They are basically god forever unless the property gets a vacant house notice from the city or major permitted repairs are done.

Being remote, I'm not looking to do major rehab for my first deal because I'm still building my network "on the ground" and it feels a little overwhelming, but I am willing to do some cosmetic items to attract the right renters.

There are huge economies of scale when it comes to parking so not every "major" company is in every geography.  

You can check her comments on here, she knows her stuff and she's active in the real estate community.

This is my absolute emergency fund...hope to never need it to pay for a major repair....I use about $10k to $20k of this to do some high probability options trading.

People act like it's some major legal issue.

So if the mortgage balance is $120,000 but FEMA only pays $30,000 and there is no flood insurance (as the majority of homes did not have) but the repairs are in the $70,000 range, then it will have to go to short sale or foreclosure correct?  

We like large value add plays in these markets and very active in the DFW area.

If they shut off electricity for 3 weeks to a majority of your unit, that is an issue that you could have taken action on.

If you leave NY/NJ or go further away from major population areas, yes, you can find less taxes, but the rental income might also be less.