If it’s not written down, when you get to the end of the year, you won’t be able to determine if your year exceeded expectations or not.Schedule a meeting with your CPA to discuss your goals and tax planning.After all of your budgeting and goal planning, there’s another very important step.

It's important to have a good understanding of the different areas of Cincinnati and Dayton, so you can assure that you're pulling accurate comps.

I find that cash flow is very important so that I don’t have to come “out of pocket” to pay for major improvements / repairs  

You'll want to enlist a CPA on this to assist you- Repeating the above for Cancun, since it's a vacation destination already, I'd almost guarantee you that you cannot write it off 100%In regards to travel, it's also important to remember that even if everything is used 100% for business, the IRS classifies business expenses being valid if they're "ordinary and necessary".

-Most importantly, this are unsecured investments. 

Marcus & Millichap’s report also mentions the importance of universities to Pittsburgh’s rental market, “The considerable number of universities in Pittsburgh will provide a diverse hiring pool for the area’s growing tech sector in 2017 and beyond.

Finally, check with the Town to make sure there are no municipal liens, Make sure they're on Town sewer, check with the tax assessor to see how many bedrooms the tax office thinks there are, (important if you are flipping) buy ok to have more bedrooms if you are planning to buy and hold.  

I think we all know about the importance of black out curtains and a comfortable bed and linens, but after buying the wrong product, I have learned how important a good vacuum is to many travelers.

It's important to vet these companies thoroughly.

Another important thing to keep in mind is that markets with strong cashflow won't typically have as much appreciation.