Again, you can disguise this as a "service" to the tenant.

If you provide it you are responsible to repair it, the fact that the washer and dryer were there when they moved in would lead me to lean towards a you should provide laundry services answer, however you may want to switch out to coin laundry or submeter the water for the future anyway.

I know investors in Ocala who have used been very happy with their services, and they definitely handle investor needs, including double closings, etc.

Google: Multi Family Laundry Service in xyz and you can see which one comes up.some have reviews and testimonials.

There are a lot of third party services that will do credit and background checks for you.

The other higher elevation is so far out in the country it would only service about 20 houses. 

We havent ever used one, but most of the services I have heard of just do them for a percent of savings.

I'm starting out with getting to know the Middle TN markets to better service our network of investors.  

As for collecting monthly payments you hire a servicer for $20-25 a month and they will make sure there is insurance on the property, as well as escrow taxes and insurance.  

They are providing a good/great service to you, I would try to return the favor this way.