Don't think I am willing to take that risk and work my butt off to making the lender his interest while they sit back do nothing and collect. 

As with anything, don't risk it if you aren't willing to lose it.

I am not adverse to risk but I see low spread between cap and debt as not worth the trouble.

And as @Basit Siddiqi pointed out, you will likely need to file an Ohio nonresident income tax return to pay tax on the income you earned from the property in Ohio.Regarding whether you want to have an attorney look at the lease, that depends on your risk tolerance, the type of property, the type of tenants, etc. 

I would sell any SFHs just in case the markets do turn and you lose your equity.Money sitting dead in a SFH is always at very high risk.

I work in information security, so I have a strength in combing through details and considering risk.

Another issue with the LLC is that, it's not very fluid, in that you may run into hurdles down the road when you try to refinance - but it does give you protection.On the apartment building side, I am currently closing on an 11 unit and in that case I would highly recommend the LLC / S corp structure for protection, liability and anonymity - it's just a higher risk investment. 

If you do great with your first few deals, you'll have the room to stretch and risk a bit on your future deals.

I'm planning on jumping into the upcoming Jackson County tax sale with both feet this year and I'm wondering if anyone here has any experience with this process and any tips on what to look out for (potential risks) from acquiring one of these properties.

there is a free downloadable pamphlet and waiver, it should be a part of all of the packet of documents to review and execute with all tenants.On the E Coast I think you would risk losing out on some great opportunities.Pamphlet and waiver-https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2017-06/documents/pyf_color_landscape_format_2017_508.pdfhttps://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/documents/lesr_eng.pdf