An agent from Atlanta drove down and while conducting the inspection at the neighbor's property, walked over and took a wipe sample from my front porch and also took some paint chips for testing.

Auction.com handles foreclosures too... and likely H&M as well... so this is dangerous water to wade in without experience.Absolute first step is to learn how to access all necessary public records in order to conduct a basic title search on your own.

If you tell them up front that you require a minimum income of 3x the rent, a credit score of at least 650, and that you will conduct a credit/criminal background screening on every adult, that should weed a lot of them out before they bother applying.

@Lee Ripma is correct - as a California resident actively engaging and managing an LLC from California, California will declare nexus and require a registration, a tax filing and a minimum $800 fee each year.Marketing into other states may or may not create nexus (depending on each state's laws, so look them up) and need to register/file in that state, but as @Wayne Brooks indicated, you will most certainly need to be registered in any state where you want to sign contracts and otherwise conduct business in that state.From each state's point of view, anybody who wishes to sue you must be able to do so in the state where the transaction took place so you must be registered in that state with an agent who can accept legal service on your entity, should the need arise. 

FYI -- Around here you have to be a licensed title insurance producer to conduct a settlement.

I would recommend conducting a full re-screening on them as well.

If the owner of a buy and hold is paying a PM company, then I'd assume they wouldn't want to pay an agent to conduct showings of a vacant rental, the PM company would just do that.

This strategy is not perfect for every acquisition - since purchasers of LLC membership interests are purchasing both the assets and the liabilities of the acquired LLC, it is important for the purchaser to conduct adequate due diligence to minimize the risk of any undisclosed liabilities.

As many have probably experienced, you'll conduct your "research" and find favorable possibilities and still be hesitant to pull the trigger.

Im conducting my Market research tonight.