I'd prefer a property that only needs cosmetic work and is located near a good part of town as well as an "attraction"- ie baseball stadium, hospital, concert venue- so I'll have the option to Air Bnb if I choose to. 2) Generally, which city has a higher profit on rentals?

I am 23 living in Dayton and I am a Designer / Draftsman with an architecture degree. 

. - What about designing a lease option for 12-24 months?

For some reason ive always attracted a beginners crowd when I sought out to find experienced people.

My question is whether anyone with experience of adding similar small interior storage units/lockers can offer any recommendations regarding design/materials/systems?

It looks nice, attracted many interested viewers, and was rented within 2 weeks of listing.

No S.A.L.T. restrictions, no state income tax, very low property taxes, relatively low property values etc are all attracting buyers from across the country. 

As in the design work. 

I started on my real estate journey right out of Architecture school, ultimately to get to designing and developing my own properties from the ground up.

@Ned J.Retirement accounts (self-directed or not) are designed to provide you benefits at retirement, they are not for your current benefits.