There are a lot of excellent softwares available that are free for tracking or very inexpensive if you use certain upgrade features like online payments or e-signature.BiggerPockets just announced FREE access to RentRedi for all Pro Members.

There are so,e safeguards available; third party loan servicers, escrow agents, using joint bank accounts, etc.  

For a print / hard copy for local people stick with Word or PowerPoint . . . very simple and you can make it as impressive as you want.For web-based use, even a basic web site builder allows you to insert pictures and if you are using E-mail, simply save the hard copy file as a .PDF and attach it to the E-mail.If you want I can send you what we use . . .

E-mail a copy to your agent and the title company.

Here's a very basic explanation to get your juices flowing:Assume a house costs $200,000 and rents for $1,500.

This is the e-mail we send.   

It will also be less costly to file a schedule e on your personal taxes than separately file an LLC.

@Ryan Williams  going into an economic downturn, I would be more concerned about stable rents than squeezing that lemon for all the juice its worth.

What's your e-mail ?

At the end of the day, long distance investment is mostly a series of phone calls, e-mails, and studying the market, all which can be done while taking baby for a walk or during nap times!