I've been looking for hard money lenders and agents to work with, so if you have recommendations to look into, let me know. 

As a lender, what is a safe amount of money to have saved in market where the average home price is 185K?

You can get free advice on BP, from other realtors, lenders, contractors and other investors.

My lender is about to prequalify me for $250-350k, and I target the Cincinnati market as I am located in LA, California, so an out-of-state investment.

It could be worth considering a shot at an actual software solution built for DIY landlords (1 - 15 units); one that helps you to automate your own rental process (ie. compared to other tools, one that helps you to actually get it listed on 10+ major listing sites, allows you to schedule showings, provides you with super thorough tenant screening options, online digital leases which can be customized and help you by breaking out those fees, automated maintenance tracking, and fast rent collection which also offers your tenants the ability to report their positive on-time payments to the major credit bureaus; just another positive reinforcement/added incentive to get them to make those payments on time).

COMMERICAL, SINGLE FAMILY, MULTI FAMILY DEALS Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

On top of that, I must have shopped around to almost 20 lenders and their interest rate/LTV were the best I found thus far for my credit average (around 690 at the time).

You should speak to a few local lenders and see if they have a product that might work for you.

In investigating the out of state markets I determined that the more inexpensive options were just not properties I would want to own because they were in too bad a condition and renovation costs would make them comparable in price to what I can get locally.

As a new investor, my head is all over the place so if anyone could give me tips or any hints as to where I can find a lender to help my situation that be great.