extra cash down saves you interest, but costs you the opportunity to make money with those dollars otherwise.

Yes STR does align with your goals a lot better, but for what you have already gathered with your LTR in Cincinnati, I think you may be missing out on looking at your opportunity costs for your LTR already.

It was an old house and it was costly to keep it to the standards for Sec. 8.

But it has been about 2 weeks since the seller passed and the seller's estate has not given any information to my relator or the title company.Given that the estate is contractually obligated to the sale & that I have money tied up in the deal (earnest money, home inspection cost, interest), I am looking for advice to move this forward and/or a suggestion for a real estate attorney in Cincinnati.

It kind of depends on what your goals are, but you may be able to start consolidating your properties a little more with like-kind exchanges and/or purchasing larger properties where you could do cost-segregations on.

This saves me a ton in material costs. 

EDUCATE YOURSELF - yes, it will take time, but will lead to a selection that better meets your expectations & avoids potentially costly surprises!

They want instant gratification.It's a cold world though, you ain't getting that without a cost.

My question is this, would the cost of upgrading the panel and adding the mini split make sense for a rental?

The major factors like the roof, furnace, plumbing, electrical upgrades, and foundation repairs are all examples of costly expenses you'll want to inspect before closing the deal.