They do not offer coverage direct, you will need to access them through an agent. 

I explain to the prospective tenants that in exchange for lower rents I expect tenants to adhere to maintenance rules such as yearly carpet cleaning, monthly house cleaning, AC filter changes etc.

But I was wondering if more experienced investors would recommend trying to get it rented sooner, especially before the school year started, by lowering the rent?

If an HOA board votes to buy a new product for the community common usage, such as a new entry point access control system, are they able to depreciate that hardware in any way?

We will be in the area September 7-12th for our "house hunting trip"... most of our research so far has been done online via Redfin, Zillow, Craigslist, and we've been given access to MLS alerts through a couple people we've met networking.

Typically a lower yield property is the market determining that that property is lower risk than some huge pro forma cash flow property, which likely has that proforma cash flow being so much larger because the market views it as a higher risk asset.

You will typically receive lower rates than what you would see with a hard money lender. 

@Travis DardenIn order to access funds from a 401k, you need to determine if it is a current employer plan vs a former employer plan. 

Would it be better to go for a lower end home and use a 203k loan to rehab and finance or get one that's not as bad off and start there?

Much lower price point for ours than yours and they aren’t lasting on the market.