You can guess what the weather will be next August 4th in your neighborhood by using today and maybe the last few years weather oh August 4th but it would just be a guess. 

Do you mean protecting against certain aspects of weather? 

IMO Smokys market is worth the sweat over turnkeys in other markets if for nothing else than the historic recession resistance.

I'd caution to expect some resistance in booting out a 9-year tenant if they don't already know it's coming.

We have resisted Twitter so far.

I've since changed that as I am in an area of frequent hail activity and based on the fluctuations of hot and cold weather that the farmers almanac has predicted for this spring and into summer (and they tend to be eerily right), I'm anticipating some hail storms this year and am not in the mood to pay for the inevitable reroofs myself.

Here are my assumptions: Prop taxes are similar or lower in CAInsurance is similarThe weather is milder (presuming less wear/tear) Occupancies are much higherUtilities are similar or lessProperty mgmt is 2% higherWhat am I missing that will cause the SD property to run at $24,000 OE / year while the KC property averages $10,800?

It's just inevitable that you'll get resistance.

OK, just kidding, I could not resist banging on the gurus with that joke.Here is a link to a thread i started which runs through my story of my most recent luxury flip, in fact, the most expensive one I have done to date: http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/517/topics/101...Inside this thread you will find how I found the deal, how i funded the deal, how I rehabbed the deal, and the finished product as it sits today.

Second, - always keep extra boxes of whatever hard surface floor you choose just in case you do need to replace some.As for carpet - moisture barrier pad under the carpet will GREATLY improve its resistance to pets...and kids...and parties.