Market rate right now is $1200/mo and with renovations (quoted 60-75k in labor) it's hard to say because there aren't much data points, but I think I could fetch $1500-1600/mo.

Hey Sartaj,Congrats for the success so far and for having a clear vision for where you want to go.

Right near the cool old downtown area and good schools and A rated area.

Hey Jerell, I moved to Columbus a few years ago (from Portland, Oregon which was super expensive) to become a full time real estate investor, and ever since, I've completed quite a lot of BRRRRs, flips, and own a successful rental portfolio here in Columbus Ohio.

Tips to ensure success if you are located outside the state/city the property is located. 

Conventional financing will offer the most competitive rates but can be more income restrictive and can be unscalable as investor portfolio expand.

It is very challenging to debt service at higher LTVs given the rates we have. 

That being said there are also bad deals in any area, here included.I would run your numbers based on historical data from airbnb - pretty easy to check on airdna or even just going in the airbnb app and seeing not only what nightly rates look like for certain properties but what their occupancy is - from there you can estimate monthly revenue with a reasonable degree of accuracy and see if that lines up with your targeted returns.

The seller did not realize there is a cost to lock in rates.

With many seasoned real estate investors locked into low first mortgage rates and large equity positions, many borrowers and investors have been exploring tapping second position loans like home equity lines of credit for reinvestment capital towards down payment or rehabilitation funds.