You want to make sure they are properly installed and you don't want tenants moving large appliances in and out of the house as it will cause damage. 

Buying an out of state rental property from a realtor, wholesaler or off facebook or zillow etc as opposed to from an operation or turnkey provider who has an active, substancial, and effective boots on the ground team or teams to support you after you close on the sale. 

One thing though is that there are requirements coming into effect soon where wholesalers will need to get their license in PA for any properties that they wholesale, so you might want to look into that before it becomes official!  

Umbrella Policies are good, but they are not an asset protection tool, they only cover litigation/damages after you’re already in litigation or found personally liable.

I would need to consult tax consultant for this however I expect to reduce my effective costs by ~$1,495/month (based on a 32% tax bracket).2.

b) How do they (Cali Govt) deal with the damage, both in terms of who gets the blame and also where do they get the money?

I understand this is not a requirement, but I have never received a damaged unit from an inherited tenant or any legal issues.

That one is a big deal for rebuilding.I've also heard of property tax reductions for properties significantly damaged during the storm.Depending on the property and what you want to do, the hurricanes affected property tax, insurance, and permitting in a lot of ways.

My interests lie in all areas of real estate, and I am eager to explore potential opportunities and gain insights into effective strategies.

I'm going to reiterate what's already been mentioned above, but I'm going to actually give you examples of why it's relevant to you to find a U.S. tax professional.1 - You're going to need to file U.S. taxes once you have property down here, there's federal filings, state filings, and sometimes local filings too2 - Tons of tax treaties between the U.S. and Canada that are easy to miss and can cost you a lot of money (important one with rentals - effectively connected income - if the professional you talk to doesn't know what this is, run away)3 - The amount of days you spend in the U.S. needs to be tracked and if you go over a threshold, all of your worldwide income could be taxable by the U.S.4 - Selling real property means up to 15% of your sales proceeds might not be available to you for years (FIRPTA)5 - Lots of nuance at the state and local levels, which both want to take as much money from you as possibleMain takeaway here is that you should find a U.S. based tax person.