Both Cleveland and Columbus are great markets to BRRRR due to their affordability and strong rental demand.

I'm thinking about investing in rentals in Upstate NY (Utica area) but I'm wondering about demand for rentals there.

These property types aren't in as high demand, so they aren't as overpriced as others.

To buy a BIG property today, you will need to take on extreme leverage, make a big bet, convince mulitple other people to hand you hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars, and then you have to be right, inside of a 3-5 year timebox, about your projections, supply, demand, expenses, and cap rates. 

If Borrower fails to pay these sums prior to, or upon, the expiration of this period, Lender may invoke any remedies permitted by this Security Instrument without further notice or demand on Borrower and will be entitled to collect all expenses incurred in pursuing such remedies, including, but not limited to: (a) reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs; (b) property inspection and valuation fees; and (c) other fees incurred to protect Lender’s Interest in the Property and/or rights under this Security Instrument

So I think it really depends on the area you are in and what the demand is for STRs. 

Demand is greater than supply.

Prices look attractive, but lots of investors there.Decatur is probably a place to look, Krum, Gainesville, Sherman Denison, Midlothian, Weatherford, places that aren't off the radar, but still have good growth prospects and maybe a few demand drivers.

I know that the world of residential and commercial are two completely different animals so making the transition is really scary and intimidating. 

I will not go into the mathematics, but anyone that is a MBA graduate should know from his course work that the market place equalizes demand and supply against pricing.