Offering a rent-free period helps the seller stabilize, but what happens if they still can't afford rent when the time comes?

@Tayvion Payton   -  my guess is that you are still too far off the price, at least in the interim but it is always good to put in an offer, because they may come back to you down the road. 

In Columbus, you can still find the 1% rule and there's amazing appreciation potential due to how much population growth, job growth, and companies moving/developing there (recently Anduril just announced another 4,000 jobs coming to Columbus Ohio on top of Intel, Google, Amazon, FB, Nationwide, Ohio State University, etc.).

As a student without W2 income, you may need to show alternative income sources like savings, freelance work, or a job offer.

My job is to thoroughly vet the operator, analyze the market and analyze the deal - then I send the wire and my job is done. 

An accountant is a general job title that may potentially do one of many different tasks(bookkeeping, reviewing financials, assurance, taxation, etc)Bookkeepers are specific that they will likely only do the bookkeeping.

You’re probably thinking you have to offer asking price – not true!

I would suggest getting another full-time job for the time being and investing/doing STR on the side until you can fully and comfortably replace the income that you would be receiving from your job.Is your LTR in need of repair?

If the SEC came sniffing around and your main job was raising money and all you do is attend a weekly meeting, good luck to you! 

They are up and running again, but this pushed jobs back.