My question for you more seasoned investors is, what policy terms must I make sure are part of the policy I end up selecting to ensure maximum protection of my asset?

To avoid going through the same poor experience, keep reading.Even if someone gives you a referral here, do NOT make the mistake of assuming that the PMC will meet your expectations, just because they met the expectations of the referral source.In our experience, the #1 mistake owners make when selecting a Property Management Company (PMC) is ASSUMING instead of CONFIRMING.It's often a case of not doing enough research, as they don't know what they don't know!

Some people do have success on Facebook pages but it can be a bit challenging as Lindsey mentioned. 

@William Hochstedler  were I saw this model fail miserably for LA based investors was even though they are full doc.. the cash reserves that are there at the beginning.. investors get this irrational sense of security that their rents are going to come in like clock work that the homes are going to stay rented that their home will be taken care of like they would.. and the reserves end up getting spent on other things in their lives.. thereby wildling down their reserves.YOu have a bad run... you need 5k to fix up and re rent... house is vacant for 3 month during the process... and if you don't have the funds your PM is noting going to front it for you.. and down the tube you go. that's what I witnessed.. these were not speculators  these were people that thought their 100 to 200 a month positive were a given and could never change.. and they were woefully under capitalized. 

Long story short I realized there’s a lot of people in this society who have never bought a home, can’t afford one and don’t know how to.

@Brian LesebergYou'll get a lot of different answers from different people.

Im wanting to open a separate bank account for each property and saw a lot of people recommending Stessa for bank services.3) Do most use an LLC when having multiple rentals?

People still invest everywhere.

It’s like winning lottery - you take lump sum or annualWhen people say well banks do it, the banks can make a $100,000 loan with only $10,000 (fractional lending - which you and I cannot do).

I personally know many people who have gone out of state and made good money.What a good or bad level of appreciation is relative.