If it is physically impossible for you to fly out there, the next best thing is to hire a local BP member to view the property you are thinking of buying.  

Now he is not blind, physically crippled, or in any other way in true 'need' of service animals, however that is his claim.My questions, in terms of protecting myself as a landlord are 'what documents must he provide to prove these are truly service animals?'  

Typically not really a big deal if you're physically present in the US.

Once trust is established with a good provider, you don't need really to visit the market again unless you want a physical check-in.The upside with turnkey (and here I am talking full-service turnkey, with everything done in-house) is that all the moving parts are contained, meaning you only have to vet one entity.

@Luis Fernandez, the expenses are higher because you will have higher physical vacancy (longer time to fill), higher economic vacancy (bad debt, eviction), higher repairs (that demographic just doesn't take care of the property well and the properties in that area are usually older), higher management (property managers will charge more due to more work dealing with that demographic),  and higher contracting costs (if they even will go there, plumbers and electricians will charge more due to safety concerns).

But it is very difficult to thread the needle of intent as the creation of the units and physical rehab sound a lot more like the creation of inventory rather than selling an investment property that you held for productive use.Oh and how do you catch a tame rabbit?

Off topic, but If you end up there physically, and you're staying in a hotel, be sure to check out The "National house in" ... it's super old and neat. http://www.nationalhouseinn.com/history.htm

Florida seems to require you to have a physical business address that is large enough to park mobiles homes in order for you to get a dealer's license to sell mobile homes.

Not only am I am not available physically to go through the house with my dad, but due to the time difference having meetings, decision making, and seeing houses is a bit challenging.

I have heard that there are HUD "inspectors" that do 30 to 60 day spot checks to confirm that the borrower is physically occupying the property.