Then, we had a conversation with one of our friends and they told us their plan.

Conversely, all of your renovation, holding charges, etc. would be "cost of goods sold" and can be deducted as expenses rather than being capitalized.  

With a Tenants (aka Renters) policy, they would pay the deductible ($100, $250, $500, ... depends on what they select) and then the Insurance company pays the cost to replace the items up to the policy limit.2.

Please message me your interest and let’s have a conversation about how we can help each other.Rick

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The one item I'll add is make sure your agent (or you if it's direct) explain the offer to the seller as sometimes they overlook the escalation clause or don't fully understand it if it's new to them. 

Should I have a lease agreement ready before I buy, is there other items I should have ready or be thinking about before I buy?

In our state the landlord would be responsible for all of those items. 

Hi Simon,If you have a boiler, you might want to understand its parts and how it works--in detail.There are steam boilers, and water boilers, water tube systems, and fire tube systems.They all have different parts that can fail, and some have redundant parts to keep heat on if there is a failure and some don't.If you know your stuff about this big ticket item, you will be less likely to be at the mercy of an overcharging repairman.Just my 2 cents.Good Luck!

Call the contractors and interview them-How many jobs do they currently have, when could they potentially start on yours, how many men will the have on the job, How do they bill for projects, have them meet you at the property to bid the job and provide plans and Scope of work before you meet so they can come with a rough number and then provide a line item bid.