Perhaps with some time, the foundation guy would do work cheaper for me than the homeowner, etc.

When my condo tenant complained about tenants next store playing loud music into the night, my sister, who manages the place for me had to call the condo PM, who contacted the HOA, who contacted the condo owner next door.

I'm originally from Cincinnati but living in SoCal and looking to invest in Southwest Ohio area soon and looking to form a trusted team!

I'm not really considering buying it, but proposing some form of cooperation.

He does know that He won't get paid until we close on a home and he does see the bigger picture, with that said, does anyone have any advice for me that I could give him to motivate him to find these properties without having to get out and drive/bike for dollars everyday other than using the mls.

some of them even work for me from time to time.  

On a side note, I have ran my numbers on my personal home to see if it will be a great rental property for me. 

Education is key well at least that's what I hear (Still a new investor here).Regarding the overall question who's in charge/running the business and I think that's a tough question for me to answer for you, BUT.

The local DMV had a form that allowed me to pretty easily obtain title to the abandoned vehicle.

As a possible solution, I located an online form submission site that allows me to create a custom form, to which I can provide a link in my advertisement.