I currently live in the DFW area and rent a 1 bedroom apartment for around $876 a month, maybe $1000 with water, electricity, internet, etc included; my lease ends at the end of May.

There are plenty of articles on the internet.

we had about 50 million out and that was 250 investors.pretty sure you will find like kind companies in your state no problemthen just look at loans they present you and make sure they make sense.DONT do this with NEWBIES or people hitting you on the internet talking a great game.. you need to belly to belly and make sure your aligning with top shelf experienced players. 

Long story short, in the inspection period, I noticed that the the bed was against the wall during the pictures in the master bedroom for the internet.

Honestly the brick and mortar model is attempting to adapt to the internet world, but it is difficult when every brokerage office costs at least $2k a month to keep the lights on and door open. eXp doesn't provide the leads exactly. 

I’m looking for suggestions on how to safeguard myself in case their situations deteriorate quickly and I’m out one or both tenants, and ultimately rent money.

Depository institutions (big banks and CUs) and internet lenders are where you want to go to save $37/mo by refinancing to drop your rate 0.125%, or where you want to go when you want a HELOC.

What safe guards do I need to put in place for buying outside California.  

On that note, do you have any recommendations on good internet wholesalers of extinguishers and who you typically use to perform these annual inspections?

A) Buy enough units to control the board or B) List the property and hope the buyer does not google your HOA which is probably like most and has been bad mouthed all over the internet.