That starts with leadership at that company you select to protect your investment.  

I have been using meters from a company called True- Submeter for the past 5 years.

Would it make sense to start your own PM company for this purpose and have spouse as sole employee who receives compensation from the small rental portfolio? 

My VA takes care of most things and he is MUCH cheaper than paying a property management company 15%-20%.

He says he will set up the LLC for you and lists his company as the registered agent and as the person setting up the new LLC.  

I'm a Mortgage Loan Originator and my company has some great investor products.

Confirm with title company that understands local transfer tax regs but in most states, even if transferred for a nominal amount there are transfer tax consequences based on the assessed value.

We will pay the Z people for low quality leads, r.com for junk leads, 100 other lead companies for junk leads and try to call FSBOs and Expireds and do anything not to call or not to call people we know. 

I'd advise resending the contract, this time with your EMD included, and arranging for it to be wired directly to the attorney or title company. 

If it was going to be a STR I would be more inclined to fix but get a pool company out to estimate.