What are other options do we have if we don't have piror experience? 

What experience does he have in real estate or in selecting investments in his IRA?

There are certainly some things to learn along the way, but you'll figure it out as you go just like we all do.There are plenty of folks here that would be happy to help for free - including me.

It is quite a bummer as rental registration is free in Columbus.

You'll most likely still need a coborrower at first, but may be able to refi them out of the deal in a year or two once you have qualifying experience and operating history - then you can likely use all of the rental income towards your gross income. 

Again, I speak from experience.Thank you for your responses and experience.

Feel free to share any thoughts you have here as well. 

Start with BiggerPockets Ultimate Beginners Guide (free).

An LLC is not free.

As a beginner investor based in the Seattle metro area, I'm eager to learn from your experiences and share my journey as I get started in this field.My current strategy is to focus on live-and-flip for the first three deals (looking for my second deal) to gain hands-on experience while building equity and learning the ins and outs of renovation and the local market.