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

Investing in Wisconsin and Illinois is a great move—both states offer solid opportunities for multifamily and single-family rentals.If you’re looking to connect with like-minded investors or agents, I’d recommend joining local real estate meetups or REIA groups in the areas you’re targeting.

I would recommend having the property assessed for any damages—were the windows or doors damaged during the forced entry? 

Do you recommend the program and why?

This deal was sourced off market by my real estate agent(recommended by bigger pocket),  seller uses a LLC to sign contract, I later found out online that LLC was owned by an real estate agent who seems to work for the same real estate broker as my agent, I don't know how well they know each other,  the mortgage broker I use is recommend by my real estate agent, the lender is a local bank in ohio. when I review my appraisal,  mortgage broker seems to know the seller ... 

Any recommendations for starting strong would be appreciated. 

@Dawn MurrayI recommend you seek your own attorney in this as well - typically in these situations there is very little to go around but whoever gets the first lawsuit and judgment wins.

I would recommend that you start with buying a primary residence using a low down payment loan, like a 5% down conventional loan, live in it for a year or two and then keep it as a rental when you go and buy your next primary residence using another 5% down conventional loan.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------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?

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!