Maybe this is a simple question but does this have to be set up through a service or could this just be my bank and I hold the money? 

Sticking with the theory of making thins simple and fool proof......any one have thoughts or suggestions

I live in a simple home. 

As long as you keep track of everything and report correctly you should be good to go.I'm always in the camp to Keep It Simple Stupid when it comes to running stuff through LLCs until you hit a certain critical mass of assets and/or income.Hope this helps!

I suppose my question on this is: Is her simple statement (which came in a text, btw) to me of "I'm moving out," enough for me to take this kind of action?

I use Stessa for accounting, I love it, it links right to my bank account/credit card accounts and I can assign purchases to different properties and units of the property for multi-unit properties and at the end of the year I have a simple report to give my tax professional 

In America in 2024 and beyond, you will need money to fulfill simple needs, but I don't strive for the money, I strive for what it allows me to do. 

From a landlord perspective, its great to be able to provide these simple services/amenities at no cost to us, yet empower the tenant to enroll in programs like this.

In total it took 8 months to complete... a simple cosmetic flip on a 1200sqr ft house in a neighborhood that wasnt asking for much.

Just do simple math and see weigh how long the eviction will take vs. giving them money right now.