If it is in a true vacation market most furniture companies will come deliver and setup. 

Insurance companies have many exclusions and they may not cover everything, but they can help to pay for some of the costs of a lawsuit.Good:Using one LLC for all of your rental properties.

My understanding is that the the mechanics of the transaction would occur much like a conventional transaction with a third party title company.

It looks like it is withholding applied to you when you file your MD non-resident state tax return.if you over-paid, you get some sort of refund.Some states require title companies to withhold on non-residents to force that person to file a return.

They selected a So Cal title company and a escrow company and said it's too late to change now since we are going to close on Monday.I am purchasing this house by cash, and I see they listed the lender's title insurance for $1650.

Just as there is a diversity of opinion in this thread on good investment areas,  there are a variety of people who want to buy and rent in every area of town. 

This company called Zoom Prospector / GIS Planning does great demographic stuff in the PNW and Midwest.You can also purchase data... costs a few hundred, but may be worth it for scoping out-of-state stuff.

New companies like Intel, Amazon, and Google are also investing here.

There are a few companies that will help connect you with out of state turnkey properties and management companies. 

Multiple, billion dollar companies are investing heavy in our area, such as Intel, Google, and Amazon.