As a licensed Real Estate Broker in Maine, I managed the acquisition and renovation of 1272 Lakins Rd, Etna, leveraging my expertise and industry knowledge.

What’s your main focus, or what are you hoping to get out of your journey here?

We've found that there are neighborhoods in the Cleveland Metro where it's nearly impossible to cashflow, As Jay said tenant quality being one of the main motivators behind that.

Mainly the "self sufficiency test". 

We lived in a little apartment above the garage and rented out the main portion of the house. 

Bad contractors are one of the main reasons why first time investors never do a second deal.

The main reason I ask is because that is significantly below primary residence mortgage rates let alone any investment loans, if you can get rates like that I might need to make some changes on my end hahahTo answer your original question, assuming all else is equal long-term fixed rate debt is valuable. 

The main differences (besides rates/underwriting guidelines) is what you can include in your renovation costs.

Lenders stopped allowing rent by the room due to modifications done to the property resulting in functional obsolescence and significant cost to cure in the event there was a default and they needed to foreclose on the home and resell it, given that the main buyer pool for single-family homes are primary occupants. 

If you’re set on Florida, focus on areas just outside the main city that are still growing—you’ll find better deals there.