There are a number of good hardwire and battery operated options these days for lights and cameras.

Do you want this property as a pure rental or a house hack?

(And would definitely prefer Slack over Whatsapp).I'm a newbie-ish investor in Cleveland, living in my first house hack (four units) with one other pure rental property (duplex).

It sounds like a pure ripoff based on your stated details, and I would suggest having a heart to heart with your original "professional and experienced individual", whom you do not actually state is a Licensed RE sales person.

Are you doing this for purely an investment?  

The more headline companies that have decided to move to Columbus as of recently include Intel, Hyperion, which is a company that makes hydrogen fuel cells, and Forsees power which is a French EV battery company. 

In addition to looking to the areas purely from a geographical perspective, I also want to gauge rental and RE growth prospects for that area 

You need capital... pure and simple, and the best way to get it is for you both to maximize your W2 income for the moment.  

Purely incompetent. 

I have tried giving the properties back to the TK provider but it would have been a pure ripoff!