I thought great, we haven't found the perfect rental yet and I won't have to make the drive again.My broker says not to trust them, that they will steal my commission if I am not there for it but that if I have it in writing (via email) that the agent understands I am representing them and will be entitled to my portion of the commission if they rent the unit.Do you think this is enough protection?

Just don't buy in a market that's not growing or extremely overpriced rent-property value wise.In terms of other vehicles, crypto is dead and I won't enter at all till a bubble begins again as it could easily die for years and never come back.

Scott Goldstein at Atlantic Trust Mortgage.

Homeowner retirees who can get on the list of trusted house sitters find a world of travel on a shoestring budget (if that's something they want to do):http://retireearlylifestyle.com/aaa/house_sitting_page.htmSome traveling retirees don't like the idea of moving their furniture back and forth from storage if they want to rent out their home while they spend part of the year living in another part of the country (snowbirds, sunbirds):https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/20/your-money/selling-the-family-home-is-liberating-for-many-retirees.htmlCombining these two ideas, perhaps you can find a trusted house sitter to live in your Lake Oswego home while you're living in Las Vegas.

I use to use trusts but now the rate and terms  are not as good and banks shy away from them.  

Just make sure you know what you’re signing and have all of the proper documents together.It’s not that it’s extremely complex, it’s just what you might miss because you don’t know.

Find one attorney you like ans trust and just follow his advice.4.

Short background: I currently co-own 3 SFRs in the Des Moines, IA area (started investing in 2012) and have always used a trusted RE agent for the purchases with the exception of 1 of them, as the Seller had a dedicated RE attorney for closing and we avoided the RE agent.However, stumbled across a deal where a friend's neighbor is selling a rental she owns as her previous renters were evicted due to disability to pay monthly rent.

She said she would be extremely difficult to find  a new place in the next 26 days with the weekend. 

Have you contacted Equity Trust?