We are leaning toward some sort of private lending/creative financing but am unsure where to start.

My trip is essentially a vacation, but other than enjoying the unique touristy things each city has to offer, I really want to use the bulk of my time to explore markets and dip my toe in the water of investing, exploring different neighborhoods, looking at properties, talking to agents, investors, and whomever else can provide valuable insight on what I'd be venturing into when I'm eventually ready to buy.My intention with this post isn't really to turn this into a sort of journal with periodic updates, but mostly I was hoping that this post, and perhaps others in the future, could help me connect with some of you more experienced folks out there who may be willing to lend a helpful hand in anything at all real estate related. 

I'm imagining my home owners insurance would need to change somehow but I don't know of other things.For those that have done this sort of transition, do you have any lessons learned you could share with me?

He could change his mind, get judgments/liens against him and the property, all sorts of other possibilities. 

You don't have to accept a co-signor if you don't want to (unless Ohio has some sort of law requiring it).

Maybe new windows and depending on the amount of damage tenants do all sorts of other costs that would possibly not be required if the home was owner occupied.

Kind of a "I can't argue with him, so I'll insult someone else and try to deflect" sort of strategy...It might work with those you're used to debating with, but...Oh, never mind...

There's no shortage of data, but without some type of methodology to sort and prioritize it, a comparative assessment of multiple markets would be little more than a futile exercise in guesswork.

I consider this sort of real estate business as being like manufacturing.

Congrats.My concern is that the property is currently 75% occupied. what sorts of implications might this impose, is this something you can work around?