@James Tobin  yes FHA will be a very low downpayment option for you.

Before investing here I suggest you read The Ultimate Guide to Grading Cleveland Neighborhoods to get yourself an understanding on the market.

If you do something that is too high end or bold compared to what is available in the neighborhood, the exit could be very difficult 

Focus on smaller single-family homes, condos with low HOA fees, or multi-family properties in these regions, and build a reliable local team of agents, property managers, and other professionals to ensure a smooth investing experience.

Like you said, your maintenance should be very low on BTR.

No debt, they bought this place for like 200k in early 90s, quite old people. im not sure if they will be alive for the 7yr term but they chose it..The reason im putting so much down is im buying w gift money and i want low monthly payments.

Can try to reposition to Class B, but neighborhood may impede these efforts.Vacancy Est: Historically 10%, but 15-20% should be used to also cover tenant nonpayment, eviction costs & damages.Tenant Pool: majority will have FICO scores of 560-620 (approaching 22% probability of default), many blemishes, but should have no evictions in last 2 years.

Currently living in our home and plan on renting to keep low interest rate while we house hack a duplex to start our investing in real estate.  

It’s when homeowners who locked in ultra-low mortgage rates during the pandemic hesitate to sell because moving would mean trading up to much higher rates.

Additionally, they should be helping with taking video walkthroughs of the location and the property, estimating renovations/scope of work, helping you learn neighborhoods, building your real estate team, etc.