Condition of the plumbing was unknown.  

The single family homes in that price range are either in poor condition, or are in a bad area.

The property is is great condition just needs sprucing up and I can get friends to help repair it to code. 

A good project manager is expensive, so you have to calculate that into your margins.Try not to get too focused on the word "distressed", as almost all flips are in some kind of distress, whether it be the situation, the condition, or some other issue.  

No title company is going to insure that the condition of title is free of claims when there is an active, pending litigation.

I'm starting out my investing in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio because I've lived here for three years and I think I understand the market and its drivers, and prices continue to appreciate.I see real estate investing as a way to build a base of passive income to make sure I can take care of my family if their health or the economy fall on hard times. 

Will your "comps" still be "comps" of the market conditions in two years? 

This is important to determine the health of the business versus a percentage of the rent they pay you.As an example a business doing 1,000,000 in sales you generally do not want to see more than 10% going to rent or 100,000.4.

Are there any banks out there that will lend the other 75% on this property in its current condition? 

When we do this, basically I have to set it up so that both go to the same underwriter, same processor, same title company (in this case the title company of the purchase transaction would just be re-used for the cash out refinance), etc, but two different funders because they both have to push the "fund" button within a few moments of each other for it to work because each loan will have a condition that it can only fund if the other one funds.