Also, and this may seem obvious, I strongly advise against getting into a project without knowing your costs or ARV.

Personally, I like to provide a high quality product in a nice neighborhood and subsequently, I intentionally have a strong rental criteria 700+ credit etc so I can weed out the tenants I do not see being a good fit.In regards to best practices, I usually do everything via facebook messenger, text and email but I will probably utilize a google web form moving forward.

We understand that one property doesn't create financial freedom, but we are committed to growing our portfolio and want to make sure we get off to a strong start. 

Hello I need help on making my offer strong and competitive with out being ridiculous.

We'd like to use the property ourselves 2-3 weeks a year for family vacations, but otherwise looking for a strong STR market.

My insurance agent is strongly recommending I require any tenant to carry renters insurance, with me listed as an Additional Insured.

One consideration is what is the norm in your rental market - it is best to align to other landlords unless there is a strong reason not to.Advantages of having utilties in owner names:- You know that the utilities are paid. 

According to Airdna it has strong numbers, but I am curious to learn what people with actual boots on the ground are experiencing.

With that said, we feel that we have a strong case against the insurance company.  

I'm not a lawyer but it looks like you have a strong case if he forged a property owners signature to then resell you the property.