I look for deep market insight, guiding an investor for right neighborhood based on criteria investor provides and being proactive about helping filter thru' listings.

You essentially would be digging deep into your own pocket when these costs arise.

Deep Breath - Always good advice.

That said, these days most good contractors are so busy you might be deep in line trying to get one to run a project. 

Despite them all being deep blue tenant friendly cities, they are also the engines of wealth creation in this country and therefore over a long period (20+ years) are likely to outperform everything else.At the end of the day, you need to come up with an investment thesis you believe in.

Our first DEEP value add multifamily project here in Radford, VA just stabilized and refinanced out of the 12 month construction loan. 6 unit apartment building all 2x1 near Radford Campus.

Location in Cincinnati: Since you're relatively new to Cincinnati, it might be helpful to consult with a local real estate agent who has a deep understanding of the area.

Here in VA there are a lot of very deep value or abandoned multifamily buildings.

You can make markets and put bids that get hit and 12-15 years from now those are the deep value buys. 

I don't do much "creative" financing cause time is wasted dealing through gatekeepers/agents, I do my creativity usually by buying deep or making a market for someone needy.