Unfortunately, at this moment in time, while you are beginning to smell the wonderful aroma we refer to as the power of RE, you have not been around long enough to know where the aroma is coming from - or something like that lol.I am hoping that these houses are just an academic exercise  - you are not ready yet to take action. 

If you don't have all the power tools you could rent them, but often a better way is to buy them new at Home Depot, keep the box, and then resell them for a slight discount on Ebay or Craig's List.  

If the painters estimates come back too high, look into a power sander.

Do I have to be presentin the country myself or can my sister (who moves to Round Rock soon) withthe Power of Attorney purchase a house in my name? 

Does any one have a copy of a Limited Power of Attorney they can share.

In the grand scheme, it is ideal if there is a powered exhaust fan that turns on when moisture levels reach a certain per cent.

For example, in states like NJ or PA, the executor is appointed and the case is never closed (so they will always have fiduciary powers over the estate), whereas most other states have some type of closing statement.

This is not only illegal, but as MikeOh points out, it will give the tenant power over you and you have just lost all control; however, you really don't want to loose this person, she is a perfect fit for your house.

If you have a detached garage, I would put the power out there, not the house.

More power to those that can handle low end rentals, you are certainly seeing better cash flow than I will, but on average, you're also dealing with more tenant issues than I'll be dealing with.