IMHO it's much easier being an intentional landlord than an accidental one.

Various ways and databases to look in to find claims history.I dont work a lot on the commercial side, however know the underwriting guidelines are a bit more exhaustive vs a typical residential policy.As Chante stated, make sure the incident was a covered loss, and keep in mind if it hailed more than once, or there was a wind storm one month, tree branch fell the following week, then a hail storm 2 weeks later all in the same summer - those are 3 separate claims/events.  

MD to SC to CT is one hell of an exhausting drive for a 24 hour period :-).  

If they have really exhausted all of their avenues, they will let you know.  

Keeping buyers corralled until it's all over can be exhausting.

I was exploring to see what other areas are out there less than an hour away. 

This seems more like a subtle advertisement than an actual analysis of buy and hold.   

About me, I've been married to my high school sweetheart for 12 years, we've got two beautiful children who keep us both entertained as well as EXHAUSTED :)I am an Operations Program Manager in the Defense Industry, I spent 6 years on active duty in the Marines (OIF Vet).

I know you don't want to spend a few hundred on each potential deal, but you might do it on a deal you are very serious about until you are comfortable with the market.Finally, remember than an appraisal is just an opinion of value and someone else's opinion may vary.

After a 2+ years of exhaustive research on everything real estate - I finally closed my first deal in July 2013.