That's how you get protected. 

My concern is how do I have the personal protection of an LLC if I essentially cannot get conventional financing or transfer the title after the purchase?

Best way to protect yourself is simply to buy cashflowing real estate. 

@Douglas J AndrewsHi Douglas, if you are intent on this property your best bet is to get it under contract with contingencies.A key element in making your purchase offer is doing a critical path analysis to determine the steps, time, players and capital needed to pull the deal off.To save yourself time and aggravation, make your first pass offer the the form of a term sheet.

@Andrew Schrader Personally I would just buy one or maybe two and leave them in the house permanently to protect my investment.

A lot of investors can create passive income by being out-of-state although it does require more networking and thorough vetting of the team you work with.Getting yourself connected to a local realtor who is familiar with the investing market will then hopefully allow you to connect to boots-on-the-ground teams and property management companies who can protect your asset(s) and your interest.Right now, the mid-west markets are doing really well - you can stretch your dollar further as property is typically cheaper but still allows you to hit a great ROI with the right homes in the right areas (this is where your connections come in).Social media, like Facebook, BP, and Instagram will give you insight in narrowing down what markets may interest you most - some of these can be hard to get into so utilizing social media to your advantage to grab off-market properties in appreciating neighborhoods will be key.Best of luck to you!

What can I do, create, or otherwise oversee where he's "protected" but not having to run around doing errands. 

With that said and depending on your experience level, a good realtor can be worth their weight in gold in terms of liability protection and experience.

., but wondering how to protect ourselves too to make sure the work that is being discussed is done. 

This way you protect yourself and have an "out" should the numbers not meet your criteria.