People here will give of their, time, knowledge and expertise and....

if you are able to control the property with a written offer, what protection clauses will you use in your contract offer; contingencies and assignment disclosures, seller take back?

they give you a mortgage, and you be in first lien position. otherwise you could buy it, and do a Land Contract with them, or do a Leas option, just get enough option money, or down payment, that you are protected. 

Therefore, I believe you should protect yourself like a business. 

Your best bet would to be getting an attorney who can hammer out agreements that would protect you in the way you want.

I want something that will protect me from tenants that will just ignore requests for inspections and showings and I feel that a penalty will motivate them to be serious about working with me to be able to come see the unit.

The pro's are obvious by protecting my personal assets and liability.

Any insight on things to outline in the lease to protect myself, & things to go over once tenant is selected?

That puts you in the driver's seat and gives you some protection.  

Sign content can arguably be protected by the First Amendment, so whether you have a political sign, a home-based business, a for sale sign, or a bandit sign, some cities are going "content neutral".