There is widespread panic among first-time investors about LLCs when it's unnecessary and not practicable.

Is that a widespread thing, and if so what sort of terms can we get?

That's a wide spread of outcome.Stick to what you can manage at the individual level.

The drawback of relying solely on MLS, realtor.com, zillow.com, or similar listing sites is their widespread popularity.

Unless there was a severe storm with widespread damage in the past month of home ownership...not gonna fly.  

If you choose to go down the lease option route be sure to hire an attorney that understand the very specific requirements need to be followed.Several years ago, Texas revised its lease option laws in response to widespread misuse by landlords who collected substantial option fees from tenants unlikely to afford the purchase, only to evict them shortly thereafter.

I personally think it might be too soon for this unless you have higher end properties, but it is becoming more widespread everyday.I am thinking about installing these myself at my Vacation rentals in the near future.

There is a wide spread of housing from the North to the South and a massive quantity of bungalows.

There have only been a small handful of hurricanes in the past 50 years which have led to widespread evacuations. 

That’s close to the national average now but with a wide spread.