Disclaimers by the County with respect to Sale Procedures and Actions.

Just remember with RESPA (Real Estate Settlement and Procedures Act) that it DOES NOT apply to commercial real estate transactions.Just throwing that out there as it wasn't mentioned.

Again, the example being, if the year after I set up the trust I find out that my son needs a $1M experimental medical procedure to save his life, can I direct value of the trust to pay for this?

Julia Rowling its SOP  (standard operating procedures) to not put any appliance's in these homes until the tenant moves in.. same with HVAC some times  condenser unit water heater etc etc.If you install them new and leave them for any length of time they will get stolen nearly 100% of the  time... this is why I have said many times that these types of investments just are not appropriate for anyone who does not do this for a living...

Even though she technically breached the lease, you probably still have to follow certain procedures.

we had a guy abandon a small barn we rented.We followed legal procedure & eventually everything was sold off.

Not a factor.Keep in mind the paperwork and procedure requirements of Section 8. 

Does anyone have a Standard Operating Procedure they use when one of your rental units goes vacant?

The more I document what I am doing, and the procedures that we are following, then I will be able to delegate those tasks to a VA and we can focus on more income-generating tasks. 

Other than taking their word for it, is it standard operating procedure for contractors to carry proof of insurance with them so I can see it when I ask them about it?