Your basic insurance policy with $300,000 in liability coverage should be sufficient in 99.999% of all lawsuits.5.

Do I stop looking at real estate until I have sufficient cash on hand? 

A borrower could be unemployed and still qualify so long as they have sufficient credit and assets and the rental income from the property covers the monthly mortgage.If you're buying a primary residence, it gets a little more tricky.

A GC's Unconditional LW is not sufficient for sub/supplier liens.

Gives you sufficient time to check out all the features and faults of the house.Time to check out the neighborhood.Puts you in legal control of a property for a specified period of time without having to actually own the property.Time to shop for and obtain the best financing.Major maintenance and repairs are the responsibility of the owner; you take care of nothing but minor maintenance.Profits ...in case appreciation occurs and you decide to sell in the future.The difference between what you paid and any increase in fair market value is all yours!

In this market it costs around $200/yr for a twice-a-year check up (furnace in fall, ac in spring).I guess I'm leaning toward putting out requests for quotes for the whole portfolio to see if I can get a quantity discount on the checkups. 

You might consider adding any more surface wiring to make the basement more useful.The corner toilet is quite common in older houses, where one full bath was considered sufficient, but that spare toilet saved the day for many.Looks like it had ceiling tiles too; is it your plan to replace them?

Unless specified, a personal is sufficient, although every time I've been admin (seller) I've insisted on cashiers check because people play games (in case you didn't know that).

The challenge with FHA 3-4 unit purchases is the self-sufficiency test, so it's not quite as simple as you may think to buy one just because the program is available.Keep in mind dealing with a bank or credit union could leave you with fewer loan options as they may not offer all types of mortgages, or have overlays above and beyond the base guidelines set by Fannie/Freddie/FHA, etc.Hope that helps.

Lenders use the DSCR as a way to measure a property's ability to generate sufficient cash flow to service its debt obligations.