The three main factors are your personal credit score (though this can be mitigated through borrowing through an entity), your desired LTV, and the actual DSCR of the property. 

Most regular HOI policies don't cover ground water which can end up leaving it the owners responsibility to perform the water mitigation. 

How do you mitigate risk when using this strategy?

It's about having a great team to mitigate risks and successfully executing your business plan.

type scenarios, but, even all those crazy assumptions can be mitigated by simply paying off the mortgage. and not only that, but paying off the mortgage increases the free cashflow substantionally (no more monthly debt service), and you still have all that equity available for a Heloc. i know its not a popular strategy, but i think its becoming much more viable considering the circumstances.  

It is legitimate to calculate the cost savings of tax mitigation and the impact on current and future return. 

I view everything in terms of risk mitigation. 

The bullet heaters can really dry the house out and cause shrinkage in existing drywall and caulking leaving lots of cracks and gaps.... and possibly warping, checking, splitting of wood products Whatever you do I’d make sure the on-site GC can monitor the temp/humidity in the house to mitigate any issues moving forward.

And to mitigate your lack of experience.. return to investor is one way to mitigate that.. 

It's those maniacs that buy homes cash via quit claim deed off of craigslist that really get screwed.Make sure your property manager is a licensed real estate brokerage.Understand you can not eliminate all risk, only mitigate it.