I would also tell you that there is also a east side of Cleveland that offers suburbs like Bedford Heights, South Euclid, Cleveland Heights, Garfield Heights, Euclid as alternatives to the west side to which you have become familiar. 

I owned a property in University Heights for many years and the city raked me over the coals when I went to go sell.

Garfield has access to the train system into New York City and Hoboken and it is not as pricey as its neighboring towns such as Rutherford, Lyndhurst or Hasbrouck Heights. 

At the height of the recession in 2008, self storage properties delivered a total return of 5% while general real estate dropped 38%, based on REIT performance.

I think there's great upside potential in East Harlem and Northern Manhattan (Hamilton Heights, Washington Heights, etc), and as a single guy, I love the idea of doing a house hack. 

In fact, it's even going to be different between Bedford and Garfield Heights, which is right next door.But, my answers...

The last thing you want to do is buy something at a mediocre cap rate in a marginal weak suburban to rural area at the height of a cycle and be burdened with high debt service.I saw this happen to a client where I came in later on and helped them sell a 60 unit property.

. - I.e. a 2-family in parts of Northern Queens (E.Elmhurst, Flushing, Jackson Heights) can go for $1.2M and the total rental income for both units would be $5,000/month while a 2-family in parts of Southern Queens (Jamaica, Woohaven, Ozone Pk) selling for $700K can rent for $4,000/month.That being said, every deal is different, every investor's situation and goals are different.It would take some more digging to really figure out the best route for you to take.Best of luck to you moving forward!

Are you looking at Shaker Heights and Lakewood?

I have lived in Bayonne, Union City, and Jersey City (Heights and Journal Square).