Some clients who are more aggressive will invest in B-/C+/C class areas in Dayton 1-4 units and get A LOT of cash flow, but incur risks of evictions, expensive turnover renovations, and general C class neighborhood headaches.What are you looking to achieve?

I'm unsure which focus would help me scale my portfolio and achieve my goals more efficiently. 

It's just going to be harder than you thought and will take longer than you expected to reach the level of success that you likely aspire to achieve. 

There will be multiple markets you can achieve a 7.5% cap rate especially if you're buying with cash.

Your wish list is more like a $350k property in Lakewood, Cleveland Heights, University Heights,Shaker Heights, et al.It's time to re-evaluate what is most important, and then work backwards to figure out the locations where you can achieve the desired result. 

A recent report from Realtor.com says 20% of Americans don’t think homeownership is achievable.

I am asking what you hope to achieve with this complicated setup?

There are other, more ambitious, risky, and difficult, ways you could achieve the same end goal.

If the rent increase was below 8.6% and there was only one rent increase, another rent increase can be done to achieve the total of 8.6% (8.6% maximum increase for the year in no more than 2 separate rent increases). 

Don't be fooled by the promised returns - these likely won't be achieved in such an area due to delinquency and more-than-expected maintenance and cap ex.