I know it's over your budget, but is this the kind of property that would interest you: https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/194-Joliet...?

If you don't care about income and are more of a capital gain kind of guy, prices are already high (as you noticed) and there's plenty of land available to buy so I'm not sure how much is left in the tank.

As per chatGPT, closing costs in Ohio are usually 2% - 5% of the price, so maximum: $6950.I'm open to working with lenders of any kind to make this happen. 

While I haven’t invested in Cleveland or Toledo myself, I’ve heard both cities offer interesting opportunities for new investors due to their affordability and rental demand.When deciding between the two, have you considered what kind of tenant base you’d like to attract and how the job markets or local amenities in each city might support that?

I am kind of flexible on price point, something under a million for sure.

You should be able to realize 3-5% pretty easily with that kind of money, so then it just comes down to how much work you want to do and how much income you need/want. 

What kind of rate should I be able to get right now?

Opportunity to build a quality portfolio exists at any time and in all kinds of markets. 

You see it in all kinds of advertising and marketing for guru offerings, but when you get down to it, what does it really mean, and how can it impact you? 

Up until then I was cheerleading the earlier thought experiments about supporting lean/regular/fat income with ~$1000 / month per paid off SFH, thinking “I could bang that out in 5 years”.