Also, for flips, I like to reserve an additional 15-20% in contingency for unforeseen conditions or changes. 

If you're planning to sell later, Ohio requires quite a bit of disclosure about property conditions.

I would look at the value of the rentals before you make a decision to see if that makes sense for you.Regarding the furnishings, if you have to pay more for them (again here in FL, properties are generally listed fully furnished and you don't really get a discount to tell people to take the crap out - in fact, I had one guy refuse a good offer because one of my conditions was for them to take their crap!  

Unresponsive to owners for days on what is the condition of their property?

Depending on the rents and condition of the property, you could find a value or at least a price that would cause it to sell.

Tons of growth coming all over town with new developments constantly, plus the weather is great 9 months out of the year!

I’m back now and looking for some guidance on an idea that caught my attention.An old high school friend of mine has been buying older houses, either renovating or tearing them down and rebuilding, depending on their condition.

@Jake Baker Love the approach of measuring the total offers that you send, if you know your strategy most of the time it is a numbers game no matter the condition of the market. 

The conditions on the ground going into the project may not be the same as when you complete!

I asked the GC as part of the conditional last $20k payment to transfer the title to me after his mortgage note default since I'd paid him $40k in good faith for work reportedly completed but needed rework.3.)