I understand that people really are guarded about their property, but I always think "do you call the auto mechanic or pizza delivery place and tell them you don't want any when they send you an ad?"

Don't just blindly do as I do and expect same results, underlying mechanics matter.

The only stipulation was the city had to have access to the basement and I had to install a locking mechanism for the meter in case a tenant quit paying.

Never failed, strong lock mechanism and easy to manage.

All of my tenants are mechanical, electrical engineers, or computer scientists that went to great schools.  

Unlike all other online review platforms, google business reviews has no "pay to play" mechanism where you can delete/hide bad reviews, only see good ones, or anything like that. 

Confirm that the provider has experience with the particular investments in which you intend to invest your retirement funds as you very likely will have questions in terms of the mechanics (e.g. how do you invest in real estate, etc.).4.

Mechanicals: check age and condition.

In NC (no idea if it's different in OH), a standard mechanical inspection depends on the size of the property, if it's a crawl space, slab or basement foundation, etc.

The most secure jobs are skilled direct income producers (think of mechanics, nurses, teachers, experienced casino dealers, etc.).