You’ll be playing for appreciation and rent growth.

I graduate in may and I am projected to play professional baseball after the MLB draft in July.

Seen that play a few times.. this whole sub to being taught to under capitalized or starter investors who don't know what they don't know and learn this on line is just so very dangerous.

Also wonder how appreciation plays out in that area as well.

Columbus is going to be more of an appreciation play and cash flow margins will be tighter in the beginning. 

This plays into the affordability issues for tenants by allowing them to live in nicer neighborhoods for less money, yet I get monthly revenue comparable to short-term rentals.I have also shifted my focus to buying better.

U can target any real estate  although its quite robust for what your looking for.. we go for land and development land for the big money plays

Dalton,A multi LTR strategy sounds like a great play for 2025.i would suggest attending any and all REI meet ups in your area that you can find; my brokerage hosts a bunch of them up in the north east and it's been huge for our growth.i would also suggest finding an investor focused agent.

I am also curious about when/how an attorney/legal involvement comes into play with this.

Investing is different from speculating, in that it’s data driven and therefor predictable and you have factors that play in that covers your downside and strengthen your chance of upside.