Framing your position as fair such as explaining the difficulty of finding renters during off-peak months - might help maintain a positive relationship and reduce risks of property damage.Prepare for What’s NextEven if the tenant moves out early, ensure you’re protected.

Are you able to reduce your expenses quickly and easily if needed?

Found T&H realty services to be pretty interesting as they provide both buyer brokerage service (to help me find deals) as well as do property management i.e. they are not full turnkey provider necessarily, but reduces some of the hassle for me I guess as an out of state investor. 

I like this idea because it reduces the potential vacancy I could have by doing a short 3- to 4-month lease that ends in April or May, then starting over with a year lease.

I just let the insurance handle it. 

Upgrade to a commercial-style stackable setup that can dry faster (30–45 minutes), hopefully fitting in our existing laundry closet without extra electrical work.Any recommendations or specific brand/model suggestions for handling this high-volume, semi-commercial laundry?

-How are arrears handled, how do you ensure once arrears are caught up that seller doesn't walk on you. - Can you do subto with a lein on property.

Additionally, many states offer property tax exemptions, significantly reducing expenses.

Regarding next steps, I agree that the best way to approach this would be to have one person act as boots on the ground and the other person handle the back office related items.

Step up in basis to reduce your heirs' taxes and morePlus the real estate tax "deferral" can end up being permanent if played correctly