Residents tent to get upset when there are many people coming in and out and this can cause you many problems.3) If you decide to hire management company, make sure they are great.

Or hire someone to manage it in Houston and argue to CA that they're the ones operating the LLC. 

I am interested in learning more about next steps, rental viability, mortgage lending, hiring and assessing property management companies, and any other insight into the area.

Two things to consider 1. hire a buyer's agent if one is not involved, unless you have considerable experience buying houses there are a lot of things that can go wrong with disclosures, title etc. 2. 

I stayed and managed a portfolio that got to be about $20 million in commercial property, I left for a while but recently they hired me to come back and help run the portfolio which is now closer to 70 million in value.

Hire an experienced realtor who is knowledgeable in their vacation rental market to help you search in a rental friendly area to find the right property for your investment goals. 

@Tariq B.Option 4: Hire a PM and let them do their job. 

You hire an experienced bankruptcy attorney to file a claim against the estate for whatever amount you are owed.

Can I hire someone to clear the property and throw away anything left behind?

The reason why they were able to fast track permits and get things done quickly is because they hired the best in the city.