Then asked if I had friends to refer him to if I wasn't interested...yeah right send my friends to a scammer. 

@Paul TimminsThank you so much for the advice.It's greatly appreciated and so far this website has been extremely helpful for me.

@Josh WellsRecommend exploring as many sources as possible to get referrals AND cross-reference them to get as much accurate information as possible.Check out NARPM.com, BP’s Property Manager Finder (BiggerPockets: The Real Estate Investing Social Network), etc.Also, encourage you to learn from the mistakes of others - by reading posts here on BiggerPockets about owners not having their expectations met by their current Property Management Company.

Do you check Landlord references?

Look into (and Google for) building science websites that will give you the whole scoop. 

If so, page 15, Section 5.01 F. should directly address your question: http://ccatax.ci.cleveland.oh.us/taxforms/common/rreff1124.pdfIf you should be buying in some other local jurisdictions in NE Ohio, be aware of RITAOhio.com.Each of the above root websites has a menu that gives you the list of participating jurisdictions for each.

Ask for references. 

Deal is ready to close Escrow contacts lender for funding and then the excuses start and or they just ghost them.Once caught basically all websites are taken down phone numbers e mails killed etc etc..

Thanks, Savannah.I appreciate the offer and will definitely use it as I work my way through the information and calculators on the BP web site.

Locals referred to it as " Slide Hill " https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Oso_landslide