What's your experience level at this time? 

From my experience, section 8 tenants will go above and beyond to maintain their section 8 support if it becomes at risk.  

Staging your house well can help you attract more attention from buyers, which ultimately helps it sell faster and maybe for a higher price than an unstaged home (see visual):What Are My Staging Options?

I don't know where to invest, really drawn to Columbus for many reasons (some cash flow and stable appreciation)--what's been some people's positive and negative experiences in Columbus? 

I am in it and feel it is worth it as they have groups all over the country who, with experience transaction coordinators and funding groups, and even closers to help you along the way.

Your 1st photo is your Visual HOOK.

However, we will likely need a property manager to assist with some facets of running this rental (since we would not live locally) and would primarily market it through platforms such as Airbnb and VRBO to start, (eventually setting up a direct booking process).Here's our question for those who have experience in STR's or who might be involved in a similar scenario: How challenging is it to meet the material participation hours needed to achieve active status?

I do have monthly mortgages to be paid and not having rental income to offset my negative cash flow has been a learning experience and really trying to think of what options I have to have better success at this.

Currently,I don't have any experience in RE investing but highly motivated to start it asap.

Would love to hear your experiences.