If you do decide to do mailer(s), then I would advise you to personalize the card and do a handwritten note. 

And must be pretty significant unreported income if it would have caused $45k in state tax liability.You advised your client to wait past the expiration of state statute.

Also, I have heard about the benefits of having an LLC set up to manage rental properties but not sure if this is advisable at my stage (e.g., not a lot of properties to manage).

That is subjective though - I just advise my exchange clients to understand that number and understand their exposure.

Any advise?

I'm currently working with an estate planning attorney and she said she said we could put the LLC in the Trust but said she was not the best person to advise on the pros and cons of that and that we should talk to a business law attorney.

I'm sure there will be others with their own (and possibly conflicting) opinions, but for question #1, I always advise my clients to focus on properties in areas that 1) they currently (or previous) live in/near, 2) they travel to frequently, or 3) they have family/friends in the area.For question #2, the answer is going to depend on what you do for #1.

Do not communicate with the tenants except as advised by the attorney.

I can't stand Dave Ramsey because he advises people with out asking 100 questions that you should before you give advice like this. 

I likely purchased this property too quickly as it was the 4th property we toured and we didn't negotiate on asking price as the house was previously under contract and my agent advised against lowering.