I also invest in the Indianapolis metro area and had similar problems to what you mentioned in Ohio.

What is the new property tax law that you mentioned? 

My allocation I mentioned above is purely what I would do based on my current financial situation.  

IMO, only worth it if you have access to enough capital to scale your efforts, though.Can't be compared.To do well in the lending game, in addition to controlling your risk and what others have mentioned, you need... 

Every system you try will have flaws, or you may salivate over a feature that appears in other software.Some familiar names are mentioned frequently: Stessa, Apartments.com, RentRedi, TenantCloud, Innago, RentManager, Avail, Rentec Direct, Doorloop, etc.I recommend conducting thorough research on each app online to understand their offerings, pricing, etc.

You can replace it later.When I replace I get rid of carpet, but wait till it needs replacing.

People who have money may prefer to seller finance but if someone is retiring they most likely don’t care about a higher sales price they want to avoid the riskYou mention ou have a 100% close rate - then why not just buy it was traditional financing if you really want the deal?

Is it better to wait for a tenant that is more on time with payments and leave the place vacant for now or accept whoever applies? 

One thing I would mention though - doing STR just to save taxes often leaves you operationally unstable or too detached from the management to be successful.

I mention to them that I would be interested in their house if they ever think of selling it.