A year goes by, and our reserves are now built back up to $10,000.  

The FL govt has now become the largest insurer in the state even though the state program was supposed to be the last back up plan.

i'm sorry I missed this for 8 months :( For this particular one we found the tenant-buyer then the home.I'm working another one now where we found the home then the buyer.I think finding the tenant first then the home (and making sure the home will work for the 2-4 backup plans you have for it) seems like the more sensible path to me now.What do you think?

See which you like better, but if you went that route, I would do it in the same market in case on of the methods did not go as planned, at least you have another property manager as back up.  

"Excess of normal wear and tear" is not "negligence"...Think negligence as unintentional damage caused by the tenant..things like: candles left burning, stove left on, cigarette on couch, kids stuffing a toy down a toilet, causing the water to back up, etc...That stated, your comment: "Additionally, the renters liability portion would also be another layer of protection between visitors and guests and the landlord.

For the lightbulbs, charge costs plus labor. 100% get estimates and/or invoices as backup.

All my repairs are finished and thankfully I was able to find an engineer friend that helped me built this house back up with no additional expenses, at the same time taught me so much about construction. 

Obviously Covid has changed the short term rental market a bit, but from what I've been seeing, I believe it is on its way back up.

The morale of the story is always have proof to back up credibility. 

Just trying to figure out the best way to get into real estate investing, while also having a back-up plan for housing if I lose my current housing.