Hi, I am the owner of DealMachine.

The sale evidently resulted in Quest’s owners getting zippo (hearsay, working to confirm that). 

it will be a corporate/wellness retreat/short term rental destinationI need land that is close to the Action, but not too close, and preferably comes with two single family doors already built, so I can take advantage of Fannie Mae owner occupied loan and develop the rest of the land on my own and with private funding.Is Columbus a good market for this strategy?

They might refuse since you are not the owner.

This will give you more time to shop rates/fees than to be under the gun with a purchase loan. 

and that was owner occ.. todays rates are pretty normal actually. what you can do if you want though is find a really good HML and let them place a loan for you making 10 to 12% while your wait for things to change to a situation that you feel you want to move forward be more net return than buying a rental thats for sure. of course no tax bene's but there really is not that much tax benefit on one rental.. so just some alternatives. 

If you are interested in becoming a landlord or buy and hold investor a great way to get started is by house hacking a multifamily with an owner occupied loan. 

We feel this encourages/trains good payment behavior:)We have several MoveIn Specials owners can approve like, free TV, Washer or Dryer (used), etc.Our main goal with MoveIn Specials is to stand out from our competition. - Just lowering the rent really doesn't do that.

If you are able to manage it yourself, I think you will get a lot of very helpful education in real estate by spending a least a year or two doing that.You'll be able to work with property managers a lot better if you've done the work yourself for a bit, and it also helps to get familiar with the various laws and regulations you have to comply with as the owner, even if you do have a property manager in place (e.g., the new RI rental registry and associated lead paint inspections/certificates).It's up to you whether you're able to do it, but I think you'll get a lot out of the experience if you can try it for a year or two.

As an owner you're allowed to manage your own properties.