Also check out Bill Bronchik's mentorship program and see which one would be better for you.

There is nothing like it within miles of the locations I’m considering so banker said I could get stuck footing the bill when I try to refi even if I’m showing positive cash flow from the property. 

If not, send a bill and add to her ledger that may get her attention.

If you choose a city that has a lower cost of entry point but a nice level of rental cost you could use an FHA loan that requires 3.5% down and live in 1 unit for several years while the other three tenants pay for your mortgage and bills and hopefully generate you excess cash flow to bank into your next down payment fund.

Having worked in a W-2 environment for the last 20 years, I've now had my eyes opened to the incredible wealth building power of residential rentals versus the "quick fix" and subsequent tax bills from the land deals I've been doing. 

Selling, without an identified replacement deal will land you a tax bill which diminishes your wealth creation. 

Anyways I imagine the insurance company will be thrilled when they get the bill.

There's probably a benefit to being an early adopter in that you take care of it before everyone else "has to" do it, but if you're too early then the infrastructure/products/know-how isn't there as much so you pay more than if you wait until demand is more widespread.Most folks I know, including myself, are taking a "wait and see" approach at the moment, but obviously folks that owner occupy might act earlier especially since it could benefit them personally.Now is a good time to recommend RISE Engineering, which does free energy audits of residential properties and then reduced-cost work if you do decide to implement some/all of their suggested improvements.My understanding is that it's free for the audit and reduced-cost for the work, because they get funded partly from charges everyone already pays on their electric/energy bills - i.e., it's subsidized by a tax we're already paying.

Probably won't be cheap, but almost certainly cheaper than a surprise tax bill or missing a gap in your liability coverage.

Do you only need the bills in your name for a year and no other lease/mortgage in your name?