Should I wait for Spring for greater inventory, or for lower rates to see if cashflow improves?

Potentially lower down needed of 15% with better rate and 6% cap in IPC’s

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The loan is with you, not with your tenant, so none of that means anything to them - in fact because you live in one unit and it's under 4, if you were self-managing you don't even have to abide by fair housing laws (at least on the federal level). 

You'll likely need a higher down payment if you can find anyone willing to finance something like this as a first time investor; many require some level of rehab experience at the very least.

I think you'll be hard pressed to get an ARV of $140k IMO...I'd expect something around $115k or lower.

.- not sure of your home market but i assume you are choosing ohio for its lower cost.  

Typically, the adjustments I see on appraisals for basements are more flat rate adjustments. 10k is usually the number I've seen.What stinks is that there are a couple of model types that have below grade space where the builder, I'm sure, was trying to lower the taxes by having it below grade so the county wouldn't count that space in the assessment.

So depending on what your investment goals are and what type of properties (Class A through C/D) and where in the city you want to buy, that can directly impact the level of stability one can find within the market here. 

From my understanding, it might be more advantageous to refinance as a rental property at a lower LTV with income from two units, rather than as owner-occupied at a higher LTV with only one rental income considered.