I don’t care to go and work for Marcus, CBRE, etc. too much red tape in my opinion.

I don't know if you remember me, but we were in the same Bold class last Spring!

She's interviewed several but is not comfortable with the terms of their contracts and they seem resistant to modifying/red-lining their terms (note: my wife is a contract attorney, so part of the question here is "are we being too stringent?").  

I’m pretty handy and can do a lot of cosmetic work myself, but my biggest headache has been in navigating the city so I want to make sure I don’t get caught up in anymore red tape... gotta love LADBS.

Or should the fact that it doesn't cashflow be a red flag? 

I agree that Barstow isn't the right place to buy, I did a lot of research on that too and found a red flag at every turn.

Anything that I should look out for that might be a red flag ?

What other things are red flags from the T-12 or rent roll?

I've been shocked to find how many groups offer "success" stories, but when you do some independent research, red flags pop up. 

Believe me, the extra $15-20k you'll pay for a B prop will come back to you ten-fold in lower turnover, lower move out costs, lack of Section 8 red tape, and general peace of mind.