As for any oil tank, if they're leaking oil into the ground then yes you have an environmental issue to deal with. 

Now you need to figure out how to find deals and pay for them.

@Tatum Kantor I would recommend you talk to @Ross Yeager, he lives in CA and does a lot of OOS deals.

I definitely recommend Columbus Ohio because there's still so many deals that hit the 1% rule, positive cash flowing, and quickly appreciation!

I'm looking for advice from the folks that find these kinds of deals all the time, and how best to proceed.  

There is aircover which essentially is guest damage insurance but it's an absolute pain to deal with and get money out of Airbnb.

So as a licensed Broker, and Expeditor with experience in dealing with investments/investors, distressed homes, and multifamily violations here in NYC I can tell you that your plan is pretty sound but the fine details of how it is executed (types of locks you use, how it is divided etc) matter here in NYC.

Just do it for one year, and you will see results fast.The issue is when you pick one strategy, then a month later, you want to change, then 3 months later you want to do something else, then 2 years later you have not done a deal yetin my journey, I was broke, so I started wholesaling, then I expanded to Fix and Flips, then to rentals, then owner financing and notes and commercial properties.

Partially because we are fairly content with where we are at, but also because the market isn’t offering up great deals right now that we want to invest in.  

It's always best to start with simpler deals and scale into larger scale rehabs.