My wife was across the country when her sister, a few months from graduating from college was killed in an accident when the  motorcycle she was a passenger was hit by a oil company truck trying to beat a red light.

I got into real estate investing on accident and have been self landlording for ten years.

My main concern here is after talking with the owner (my friend), she said there was previously a bad management company who didn't respond to owner concerns and who did not offer to pay for repairs that occurred outside of owner's control.

Taxes are paid when taxable events occur. 

Right now I have been relatively lucky, but last April when the shutdown occurred in my state I provided relief to all tenants regardless of situation. 

The frozen pipe occurred so the seller will need to repair it.  

Big Banks adopt this policy for a reason.I’ve experimented (in solo ventures) with less reserves and never got into a insolvent situation but if something catastrophic would have occurred, the possibility still existed.

@Manda GouvionActually, it was by accident.

Cashflow can occur in the smaller space but you have to buy right and have a good repositioning plan.

I was also involved in multiple accidents from 2013-2018, so even a $3000 vehicle will make my insurance $230/month.