I have never given possession of a property prior to lease signing.

Typically possession happens at closing (like John mentioned, there are options in the contract that can be negotiated on for possession to happen prior or closing, but that is agreed upon when the contract is initially ratified).

So unless an agent is savvy enough to get the document executed prior to a problem, EM can be a pain to get.Regarding your situation, no one will hunt you down.  

If so much of our strategy depends on buying with good margins and doing a cash out refi, I need to properly understand income based appraisals and what to expect on the value/project a correct value prior to purchasing.  

The property has a section 8 tenant that is mo. to mo. and seller is willing to evict prior to close.  

One of the specific items that was suggested to be included in the assignment was a clause indemnifying me from any claims/damages/expenses/liabilities that occurred prior to me purchasing the property and the leases being assigned to me.

You can open your SD IRA at any point, just as long as it is funded prior to investment date.  

Prior to this I make 2 appointments with them discussing the sale of the property.

I'll be scheduling my examine any day now. 

Prior to purchasing property I was not aware of the additional expenses that should be considered based on various investment rules / gut checks and having completed the purchase I am looking for feedback on the deal and am looking for opinions in regards to if this was a "good" deal or not.