At minimum, stage the living room and primary bedroom to give it some warmth.That said, have you thought about cutting bait and putting your money into a market where the numbers actually work?

I'm originally from the area and have been starting to look at some properties there as I am living in New Jersey.

But this was an awesome opportunity for me because this is my first living situation where I will be on my own (and getting used to paying a rent/mortgage) but this will put my overall mortgage on a 400k house at roughly $2000 a month for the first year!

Do these folks have temporary  overage for places to live?

After 25 months, If they can prove that they lived in the property for two of the past five years, they can sell it as an owner-occupied residence.

@Isaac TerryIn terms of it being worthwhile, just like most other markets out of state if the barrier or entry is too high where you live, the landlord laws are not favorable where you live, and you are looking for positive cashflow then Cleveland can be a good option.

Are you looking to find a home to buy for yourself to live in? 

I have a client that bought a condo to rent after living there and the HOA ended up outlawing rentals.

However, I am thinking of having my parents who are retired living there part of the year and doing STR for the remainder of the time.

I own a 4plex where I live in one and rent the other 3.