If it's formed right, typically all that's required is a certificate of trust and a few more documents to show the chain of ownership and grantee/grantor.Will this be a rental?

Stories like hers-and hopefully yours-are what make real estate so exciting.Real estate can feel overwhelming at first, but trust me, you’ve got this.

Is it a small enough amount of money and do you trust them enough that you could pay a month in advance by mail?

Bring in a trusted contractor : to assess the current property and how much will it cost to get everything up to code (if any)... 5.

I also wouldn't recommend trusting a seller to do any long term fixes.

Even including modest appreciation and equity pay down, the ROI is between 7% and 12% for a non passive holding (not good for an active holding)I can easily afford this level of negative, but do I want to?

This level of service is NOT typical for the Lehigh Valley, and it’s certainly not what we’ve experienced with our PM or others we know in the area.A property manager should be proactive in tenant placement, responsive to inquiries, and transparent about efforts to fill vacancies.

I would set up a family trust, if you have a ton of equity maybe you refi the properties into an LLC but if you are locked in with lower rates then I wouldn't touch the ownership piece yet. 

I'd love to have a solid list of folks I could trust.

If you are able to do this at the municipal level and your numbers are correct, this would be a good investment, but there are a bunch of assumptions here.