The soil or the hard surfaces should slope away from the building to a distance of at least six feet, to keep moisture away from the footings.

This is a vacation spot that I normally visit several times a year and the short term rental income will help offset the costs. 

Just get a security deposit that you hold in escrow from the seller’s net proceeds (as high as you can negotiate or is legally allowable in your area, in my area the most you can do is 1 months rent) and have the sellers sign a lease/ post closing occupancy agreement like a normal tenant.

There are a few dozen houses with my target number of beds/baths/sqft that have been listed for rent on Zillow for 2+ months with 0 applicants.Is this normal or is it a sign that's there's not enough demand for rentals?

You could argue tenant never made you aware of the leak so it’s on them but normally that doesn’t get you anywhere.

The General contractor must spend a certain amount of hours each week on each project that he is being an RMO for, and has liability for any construction errors or defects, even though he actually does not have as much control as he normally would. it's really a niche for older retired contractors, it would just be an overwhelming amount of work and potential liability for a younger GC.

So...am I shooting myself in the foot if I buy an investment property now (out of state) to begin my real estate career, and lose out on the ability to use an FHA in LA down the road?

Normally you need to find a bread and butter B class neighborhood to make money in real estate.

@Chris Seveney, it's confusing becuase you may not want to believe what I've stated assuming the NORMAL process of a closing happend. 

Normally the only time you get a number of repairs is during turnover.