I just like the area, see a future in appreciation here, and thought being able to get an asset for $0.00 down and maybe tlose $300/mo in the long run might pan out in 3-5 years.

Myself when buying off market If there is a PVC riser then the sewer line has been replaced at some point.. but if its not PVC then its clay and as @Marcus Auerbach mentioned your going to have root intrusions soil moves clay breaks etc etc.. just running water down the shower and flushing toilets is not going to identify the issues generally.. 

It's another input cost, like toilet paper.

As I inspected ahead of my client, I noticed a frying pan on the stove with the remains of a recently cooked meal and some fresh ingredients on the counter and meat in the refrigerator.

my thought is you take on some risk doing this.. if the info  you are providing does not pan out.. you know investors they take a loss and its never their fault its always someone else.

The next trend I see are many OOS investors regretting the appeal of cheap properties that don’t pan out long term.  

Flush your toilet and your neighbor gets scalded.

If that doesn’t pan out I may invest the $250k and some of the rest in REITs currently selling at 20% less than net asset value and paying dividends of 7.5% + . 

The issues are throughout the entire home (slow drainage in furthest toilet, water backing up in kitchen / when using Washer and Dryer, etc).

The way I see it no matter how good the numbers look they never pan out if tenants don't pay rent.