PM handles it.

Offer to refund his deposit immediately as long as there's no damage (you handle the cleaning).

They handle roughly 700+ transactions a year in the Cleveland/Akron area- most of those clients being out of state or overseas.

Assume you have 3 properties then we would set up 3 land trusts to one FL LLC held by one WY LLC (some clients opt for 3 FL LLCs all held by the same WY LLC).The property manager will handle the eviction but if you do not have a PM then it would be the Trustee (assuming you did not limit the trustee's powers in the trust document). 

Dealing with nightmare sellers, including a dog left unattended for days, a break-in, and hidden foundation issues sounds like a real challenge.

Challenges?

How polished are you at handling rejection and maintaining your confidence and optimism in your pitch to clients despite it?

I agree with @Jake Baker - this is what you want to do when making it easier for the person handling your books. 

@Nathan Gesner has a good process and it's similar to ours, but here's what I propose you do moving forward (you've already gotten some good advice on how to handle this specific situation). 

For me combination of 1 and 2 works out.I let my PM handle the tenant placement, rent collection and, if needed, evictions.