If the neighbor had proper insurance it would probably have covered it, but I don't know how she ended up faring (I haven't brought it up with her, but the beamer is still all cracked up in the driveway a year later so I don't think it was covered). 

We want to know the pros and cons; what was easy or hard; were there any bottlenecks or major complications; Do we find 2 or 3 lenders and get prequalified with all of them?

That is also not an easy endeavor.  

This will insure title/permit searches are done properly and updated prior to closing.

If property managers and landlords have locks, isn't it very easy for them to steal tenant possessions?

Yes you can do it but there is more regulation since the 08 crash so you need to check NC laws about how to do it properly.

Very easy and lucrative.

Or they don't feel that they can vet the deals properly.

My question is how to determine the proper amount of walls-in insurance to carry. 

They said that for some reason, when the court ordered the transfer of the property into their name, it was never properly recorded and they've been trying to hunt down the court order for the last decade.