Do you think the area will increase in value?

On the RE side - I own/developed 2,000 residential units across the United States focusing on opportunistic residential acquisitions and development, including student housing conversions and luxury multifamily development.On the startup side - it is a third-party guarantor platform that expands your renter pool, increases rents and occupancy, and ultimately boosts your NOI while broadening affordable housing options for renters.

In 2022 the rents increased 12.1% year over year which was the 3rd highest in the entire country per https://www.axios.com/local/cleveland/2023/02/14/cleveland-rent-prices.

I am hopeful they will want to work with me to get things repaired and updated to validate appropriate rent increases.

My mortgage increased earlier this year as my home owners insurance went up due to the company closing and my escrow didn’t have enough to make up the difference so I’m kind of pay check to pay check right now.

IF that is the case full stop - yes you are paying for something called insurance but if you have a claim the company has the right to pretty much deny coverage for having the wrong type of policy.Landlord policies are higher cost but for a reason - there is a different and increased level of risk when the house is not owner occupied.Talk with your agent and get all the details sorted out. 

With $100K in cash, you could leverage this option to make a larger down payment and keep monthly costs manageable.Maximize Rental Income:Are there ways to increase rents on your current properties?

While borrowing for a down payment is risky, increasing your savings will lower your interest rate.

Corona impacts will greatly impact this surplus but it is nice that the state had a $9B surplus.CA, over the last 10 years, had the 2nd largest net population increase of all 50 states (last I looked - I believe it to still be true). 

Banks, particularly smaller banks who provide real estate loans are increasingly focused on their borrowers maintaining depository relationships.