They can usually lend in most, if not all, states in the US. 

You can also get an umbrella policy as well if you want to be extra cautious.

If you feel like the neighborhood is too sketch for them, put an extra car in the driveway so people think its occupied.

It is usually simpler to hire someone to maintain the property and include the cost in the rent.

We are wondering what resources are available (besides the usual cursory google search) to determine 'best and worst' neighborhoods. 

In more complex real estate deals there's usually a tiered waterfall structure with multiple IRR hurdles and corresponding splits between LP and GP, getting more favorable for the GP as the different hurdles are cleared. 

But since there is a limit to how much money the bank has access to....their rate will be higher...and usually with a prepayment penalty.

@Madeline Mercer hmm, usually the new automatic payment just gets deducted, at least in my experience.

Should we sell them for full market value to the LLC or should we just sell them for the price of the debts plus a little extra so the financing from the LLC isn't unmanageable.please help me save my mom, this is her only retirement plan, she's 56 and although quite spunky and very handy, she's not the spring chicken she used to be and I'm maxed out trying to find a way forward for her.

Unless you're in a situation where you're at high risk of being sued like a doctor or you have a lot of assets and people are after you, I don't think it's worth the extra hassle