There is a ton of potential in CA and you get incredible returns due to property value appreciation! 

Cash flow, long-term appreciation?

This does put a lot of things in perspective so appreciate it!

Columbus will have slightly higher appreciation and lower cash flow, whereas Cleveland will have slightly higher cashflow and lower appreciation.

Appreciate your insights!

Any replies would be appreciated!

If Class C or D, then it may be deferred maintenance issues or tenant issues.If Class A or B properties, you should be digging deeper to find out what's going on. 

Now the minimum standards your basement has to hit for it to be able to count as assessed sqft not estimated is a height of 7 ft, a point of egress (bilco doors) and a window usually in the rear, It's one of those things where if your going to go through the process of digging out a basement you might as well go for it and dig it deeper then 7 and closer to 8 ft so you actually stand out compared to the competition.Now the other side of this coin which I would suggest is if you're willing to spend 40-50k on a basement dig, consider adding a 3rd story addition if your a 2 story (think master suite, walk in closet, master bath) or an addition off the back and add a roof deck if your a 3 story (either master suite or just additional bedroom).

Any advice from active RE investors would be appreciated.

The courses and knowledge is what I'm after, I appreciate any input at all.