Seems to have a good handle on the Cleveland market, and experience working with investors, both in and out of state.  

Basically, instead of testing every outlet and door handle, he is inspecting the larger and more concerning items, i.e. electrical, plumbing, HVAC, roof, drainage, attic space, foundation, crawl space/basement, etc.PM me if you want his info.

You're busy, "cheap" midwest houses are not what you want, invest in quality product (A/B neighborhoods), this will reduce your risk.

Professional electricians, plumbers, HVAC,... are trained to handle repairs and brand new installations, and can be held accountable if they do sub-par work.It's a mental trick. 

If you can handle the debt to income ratio, get the hard money lender to lend for both the purchase and repairs of both properties.

I rent to employees and such but I have a property manager, they handle things like a neutral 3rd party.

My firm handles hundreds of tax lien foreclosures in Ohio.  

An investor who's buying properties with cash (and therefore doesn't have a mortgage payment) or is self-managing (and doesn't have the cost of a property manager) can and should expect more cash flow per door than someone like myself, who is leveraging my properties and hiring management to handle the day-to-day operation and tenant interaction.I would also guess that most investors have a CoC Return criteria, because it's smart business to understand what kind of return you're getting on the hard-earned money you're investing.

You will pay for that with reduced cash flow however; long term though there is a lot of growth opportunities.

On the other hand if you bought 2 it is less likely they would both be duds thereby reducing your overall risk.