See if the store is comfortable with goods outside on display for sale (to be brought into the store to pay for).Try to stay long enough to get a good feel for the customer base--because they will probably be reflective of your own if you buy there.Are you comfortable sitting in the parking lot at night, unarmed, or do you wish Dirty Harry was sitting next you for protection?

Even after paying for a years of insurance, phase one environmental, appraisal and so on...we ended up only having $2100 total out of pocket to close it.

So with that in mind, I'm looking for any suggestions on how best to handle inherited tenants with the below end goals in mind (in order of importance):Protecting my investment and cash-flowServing the tenant wellTreating the seller fairlyHere are the questions I have... 

So you are limiting the total risks to one box at a time.Insurances, asset striping and entities are all complementary but not similar asset protection tools. 

We have a 12 page management contract that we've added our real experiences to over the years, with the intent of protecting both us AND the landlord.

How do you protect yourself in a lease option transaction when you are the buyer ?

I've heard different things about LLCs but one important positive is that they protect you.

But he did let the trees and bushes overgrow the front of his house, so now all the windows are protected.

Or are there environmental requirements. 

Have your attorney look at this and help you how can you protect yourself if you need to evict or terminate the lease for example.