My wife does the screening and has told me about applicants that are co-plaintiffs on lead paint landlord/tenant suits and another case where  an applicant had an eviction case pending."

Call the “For Sale” signs on properties that look like they need work.B) Call Realtors of pending listings.

I have 1-2 years before my wife and I start having kids so I want to real estate invest now (pending good deals of course =) ).My real estate goals are to acquire small multi-families (and maybe SFRs) out of state, in order to reach my goal of financial freedom (100k / year passive income). 

A lot of you misread the O.P.The home is for rent not for sale.I don't know about the I.P. claim but the guy has a legitimate beef to be annoyed by all of the calls.Perhaps he already has a pending tenant and has since taken the sign down and no longer wants to be bombarded with phone calls.If he does not want his number on that site that is his perogative.

The property is no longer listed on the hud website and is pending according to another source.  

You don't want these other violations pending, be ignorant of them and think everything is great because the seller provided everything exactly as you asked.If it's worth the hassle is a subjective question.

If there is a pending lawsuit your monthly dues can easily double to pay for it. 

She told me they're newly listed and already pending.

With 1 pending the build.

Another is a pre-foreclosure purchase, where the seller is highly motivated and is under undue pressure to enter into a sale agreement.A neighbor offers a price to a property at a premium so that the buyer can control the property next door;A seller does not disclose deficiencies about the property, physical or in title, or even of pending actions (like government re-zoning actions).A buyer does not disclose to a seller of an existing permissible higher and better use for the property.