I would not recommend RESimpli to anyone else.

What inspections are required vs recommended? 

However, the biggest con is that you are sacrificing a bit of your privacy by living right by your tenants and it is usually a lot more stressful since everything is your responsibility - managing tenant issues, handyman repairs, taking care of the lawn, etc.I would strongly recommend house hacking especially in the Columbus Ohio market!

BiggerPockets also has a calculator to analyze deals, and I highly recommend you start this as soon as possible, even if you are not ready to buy.

I also recommend hiring a PM... then they deal with all of this and leave you out of it. 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Recommend you first figure out the property Class you want to invest in, THEN figure out the corresponding location to invest in.Property Class will typically dictate the Class of tenant you get, which greatly IMPACTS rental income stability and property maintenance/damage by tenants.If you apply Class A assumptions to a Class B or C purchase, your expectations won’t be met and it may be a financial disaster.If you buy/renovate a property in Class D area to Class A standards, what quality of tenant will you get?

I see that you recommend NOT having my mom deed the house over to me in order to borrow against it.

I would recommend checking with some local insurance brokers in your area, they may know more carriers that are available."

I'd recommend starting with the lower hanging fruit than a large basement reno - if your comps are close but don't quite get you to your number.Finishing the basement (with proper egress) could push you over the top, but confirm with an appraiser first to ensure it counts.

For cash flow, I'd recommend checking out the Triad (Greensboro, Winston-Salem, High Point) or Fayetteville in NC and Sumter and Florence in SC.