I bet their were no regular inspections and not real option consideration or earnest money to be lost if not purchased, like 3 - 5% of FMV.A Security deposit on a nice home does not cover many damage items of being in excess of "normal wear and tear."

We need to do a few more things on the outside (gutters/ fascia), but the big ticket items are done.

I also have  accounts At the end of the year my CPA does all the tax items and tells me how much I owe.

Not demanding the item be repaired right away.

I think the main things are to find good (good= check references for other out of state investors, ask about items you're concerned about being taken advantage of) "boots on the ground" support i.e. property management, RE agents and possible contractors to do more major work. 

I'm in our procurement department, so I spend all day working with our suppliers of both goods and services, helping folks at our resort properties sort through issues, finding strange/large/expensive/hard-to-find items, and bidding out items that we need for various projects to generate savings for the company.

That information has likely been gleaned from the public records which themselves are also not up-to-the-minute.Just to add to the items @Andrew Holmes listed, follow bankruptcies, also.

Before kids I had a bunch of time and could take the time to search for the best deal on a $5 item, or jump through hoops to stack coupons, etc. 

My wife made it a beautiful home, added a hot tub, updated the HVAC, repaired the boathouse, remodeled the Master bathroom & several other items like emergency generator connection.

Therefore, I would pay more for that than a well-run property with some expensive repair items that need to be done.