If you do research ahead of time, what are some red flags that would cause you to back out of a deal or add a couple thousand to the deal cost for legal battles/ cash for keys?

Read the book "Long Distance Real Estate Investing" by David Greene, then decide if you would like to sign up for an investor academy (which will probably cost hundreds/thousands). 

Both are very experienced in Ohio and have worked with investors on hundreds if not thousands of investment properties in the state.  

@Mike FarrIf you are going to spend 100's of thousands of dollars on an investment property it's definitely worth spending a few hundred dollars to make sure the title isn't clouded and you get clear and marketable title at closing.

the bigger syndicators would be all over it.I personally dont know one syndicator or large investment companies that their business is to buy up 100s or thousands of section 8 houses'. 

Look in the Midwest, there are thousands of opportunities, in Milwaukee, St.

Massive dehumidifiers are filling with at least 3-4 gallons of water daily - we can't rent until a slew of multi thousand dollar repairs are completed.We were told that the dehumidifiers the sellers had in the house were only used during the spring when snowmelt was very bad.

Kind of like the GFC when trillions of equity was wiped out and thousands of RE companies and investors went under. ??

This could save thousands, but might add so much red tape that it may not be worth. 

I say that as someone who has managed thousands of properties in a 15-year time frame.