Once the 3 or 5 year prepay is gone, you can pay it down like a 15 year to pump up the equity with the safety of a  longer amortization schedule if you want.

So your primary policies should be premium coverages, and then your Umbrella over the top should really just be viewed as the safety net for potential lawsuits. 

If you decide to rent the home focus on having plenty of reserves and a margin of safety between your rental expenses (mortgage, HOA, etc) and the rental income.  

Carlos, You are absolutely correct, there's  no need for a permitKeep in mind though, if it involves endangering yourself and public safety as to plumbing, electrical, load bearing columns and wall structures, etc.

It's a huge safety hazard and the perfect set up for a child to climb up there and fall over. 

"give you their MLS access info"If you are a broker or agent do not do this.It opens you up to liability and being booted from your current brokerage along with a possible sanction from your real estate commission.Many MLS's have private contact info for sellers,showing times,and property access codes along with other sensitive data.This is not something the public should have access to for safety reasons.If their is a public MLS info system that is different.

I can't afford liability insurance because my cash flow is razor thin.

There is a flight to safety which housing = safety, especially in San Diego where supply has not and will not meet the demand, for years and years to come. 

And make sure they install arc fault breakers in the sub panel, they’re the ones that have a white button on them and add another layer of safety.  

If something catastrophic happens, there is no safety net.My endgame is a handful of units that are completely paid off and each produce a couple thousand in free cash flow each month.