SFR builders are offering both agents and buyers a ton of incentives, plus I'm getting larger standing inventory lists emailed to me weekly.

Down side is you give him no incentive to clean and no damage the place on move out.Even though I would want him gone, I would still make him cover as much of the cost of early termination as possible.

Your first 2 years rent can be 450, third year 400, last 7 years could be 375, that is an incentive to keep the tenant in there.

Whatever you do make certain that whoever you partner with will either guaranty you a return of "x" in some way or they have a financial incentive to perform.

If I build one spec on an all cash basis is there really any incentive for me to worry about the Umbrella coverage as long as I have the builders risk insurance?

As you start out flipping some of the biggest risks are overestimating after repair value and underestimating repair costs, so be conservative for your first round.

I own a business that specializes in wood repair and refinishing, and my biggest clients are commercial/residential property managers.

The building will still have positive cash flow with out the commercial space rented, so the question is...What incentives could we use to get renters into the commercial space?

That is the biggest question you need to ask yourself.

I think you hit on the biggest issues those of us contemplating out of state investing have.