People don’t want to share their quiet neighborhoods with renters who don’t value peace and quiet and a sense of community.  

However, just get in, see where you fit, and build over a decent pace where down the line you will be doing great.

On the other hand, if you're hoping for better appreciation, Columbus will be a better fit.

The rental demand in the area has been consistent, and duplexes offer the flexibility of house hacking or scaling into multi-family investing over time.With your experience in construction and remodeling, you’re already ahead of the game—fix-and-flips or BRRRR projects in Kansas City could be a perfect fit for you. 

If you're looking for a Cleveland duplex in a C Class neighborhood with $120ks as your purchase price, you are looking at properties with deferred maintenance.

Again, I would say there is no one size fits all, as each have their own risks, i.e. floating rate has interest rate exposure (a rate cap is just a prepayment of that exposure and is temporary), but fixed rate has prepayment penalties.  

Market insights and understanding the rental rates in the neighborhood.

I could tell you to invest in Milwaukee, you can still find cash flow positive duplexes here in good neighborhoods around 350k and we have had very consistent 8% appreciation over the last years.

I’m happy to connect and also let you know about deals that come across my desk that might fit your criteria.

Work with local realtors what makes each neighborhood valuable.