I really appreciate the information and have a better idea of what I will be implementing going forward. 

It would be different if the furnace was newer or there was a severe hardship preventing it from being changed. 

Here is a link.https://www.fanniemae.com/portal/media/corporate-news/2020/covid-payment-deferral-7018.htmlThis way you prevented the seller from completely losing everything and you just got a good deal on the property while being protected.

Or is it just a good preventative maintenance step?

I will definitely implement these tactics to build a strong strategy in how I will invest and build my portfolio.

It is free and it prevents someone from using your social security number without detailed verification efforts.

Trying to think through if it makes sense to put more down to prevent from paying.

People sometimes forget to remove the cover and that will prevent it from operating.

This is to prevent people from buying a property for a relative to live in under market value, to generate a tax loss. https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc415

It's definitely going to give your new tenants some peace of mind when they move in, and I do hope that more landlords start implementing this kind of special cleaning too!