Additional highlights include an indoor laundry room, a separate 2 car garage with storage capacity, and a large backyard offering plenty of parking for vehicles, boats, or an RV.

Stay close to the commuter rail, go as far out as Dedham even.

In my market, my vision is to buy & hold with maybe a few flips along the way and be financially independent by age 50 (i'm 28 now).I don't want to get into a ton of debt (if at all) and my real estate law professor said tax liens are a unique vehicle for that strategy, but I don't know how they work or if they're riskier than I think they are.Anyone have any insight on how they work in Ohio, or success/horror stories in tax lien certificates in any other states?

My strategy is to find suburban areas close to commuter rails.

The IRA LLC model has been around since the early 1990's and is quite solid from a regulatory viewpoint so long as you use the vehicle within the IRS rules.Specialty advisory firms referred to as self-directed IRA facilitators provide such services, which involves legal work the custodians themselves are restricted from providing. 

You should of course require a new application with full contact, employment, references, and vehicle information to be completed, and vetted, before you offer any new terms and agreement.

If you were making a shorter term investment (like a flip, versus a rental purchase), you might want to look at a different investment vehicle like a heloc loan where you might pay a higher rate on your borrowed money, but not give up your better rate on your existing mortgageHope it helps!

My search criteria include: -Only paid park options around it, or with limited to zero free parking options-Located on or very close to a strip of shopping stores, bars, clubs, or restaurants-Be located on a road with a high vehicle count per day-Low crime neighborhood-Doesn't have to be vacant land, but should be zoned appropriately for parking lot useCurrently I'm thinking my first step should be hooking up with local agents that can help me find leads in the cities I'm looking.

I think I would channel some @Scott Trench set for life and look for an older reliable vehicle and sell what you have especially if you could break even or make money on it in the current market conditions.

@Nik Moushon You can thank me for removing that aweful jointed rail going through town 7-8 years ago on the train tracks when I used to have a day job 😁Try Birmingham, Atlanta, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Memphis, Little Rock, Jacksonville, Ohio, or other secondary or tertiary markets.