Don't know anyone in that area, but many OOS investors set themselves up for failure because they don't truly take the time to understand:1) The Class of the NEIGHBORHOOD they are buying in - which is relative to the overall area.2) The Class of the PROPERTY they are buying - which is relative to the overall area.3) The Class of the TENANT POOL the Neighborhood & Property will attract - which is relative to the overall area.4) The Class of the CONTRACTORS that will work on their Property, given the Neighborhood location - which is relative to the overall area.5) The Class of the PROPERTY MANAGEMENT COMPANIES (PMC) that will manage their Property, given the Neighborhood location and the Tenants it will attract - which is relative to the overall area.6) That OOS property Class rankings are usually vastly different than the local market they live in.7) That a Class X NEIGHBORHOOD will have mostly Class X PROPERTIES, which will only attract Class X TENANTS, CONTRACTORS AND PMCs and deliver Class X RESULTS.8) Class A is relatively easy to manage, can even be DIY remote managed from another state.9) Class B usually also okay, but needs more attention from owner and/or PMC10) Class C can be relatively successful with a great PMC (do NOT hire the cheapest!)

With big stuff he goes and places the order and has me call to pay right away then they deliver like with box stores, or local stores will fill his orders and then I call and pay within the week.

Making the offer contingent on delivering a vacant property is one way to do it. 

Deliver all the appropriate legal notices of non-renewal as specified by law. 

Our practice is to have the landlords pay for a filter service that delivers filters to the property that the tenant is then responsible to replace each month.

When we closed, I hand delivered a pre-written letter to both of them detailing who I was, the rental rates the comps supported and gave them a choice to either break their lease early, sign an early renewal (their lease don't expire until 12/31) at a lower than market rate, or just ride out the rest of the lease and move in the dead of winter.

But like @Todd Rasmussen said, if you find a good one that delivers you profits, they are worth their weight in gold. 

Generally speaking, if the deed is valid (you'll need to review the requirements for a valid deed in the jurisdiction where the property is located), and he was the sole owner, then since the deed was executed and delivered, equitable title has already transferred to you and the property should not be subject to probate.

I've come across a post looking for a New Haven county meet-up both on BP & a couple local Facebook groups so I wanted to create a thread here to give everyone a heads up I've been hosting a monthly New Haven meet-up for over a year, I will continue posting to the BP Events page and I'm hoping to get better at spreading the word and growing our great community of investors.Here is the event post: https://www.biggerpockets.com/...I'm also building an email list for everyone interested in staying in the loop for all future events, Message me your email address to join.I hope to see everyone soon.We're continuing to grow this meet-up & are working on some fun changes for the new year to continue delivering on our mission to add value to our network of real estate investors/professionals.Best,Ryan Luby 

BTW, a good PM won't hurt your margins terribly because they will be able to deliver better results in bookings and thus compensating for the PM's fees.