-assessment of what types of tenants the property will attract--you need to know who your customer will be before buying the property (for instance, will it be mostly college students, or families, or seniors, etc.?).

It's rented to top-notch tenants; an MD resident, a doctoral student, and a physician's assistant--all of whom are the best tenants imaginable.It all boils down to: take the house that nobody wants (but which is in the best neighborhood in town), and turn it into the house that everyone wants.Of course, the downside of this approach is that there's a lot that can go wrong when changing the floorplan/functionality of a property...tearing down walls often isn't as simple as HGTV would have us believe.

I haven’t really thought about section 8 due to the neighborhood being more college students.

If you have the down payment money and other money to make the deals happen it might be a good opportunity.If you're investment money is not there, it might be smart to focus on getting that squared away.Know how much you will need to make the deals happen you will be coached on.Zero down seems like a longer shot to happen than 25% down with needed operating capital and reserves.Meaning the student with the adequate investment money is probably going to have a much easier time of it.It involves you too, some people are just not very coachable. 

In addition, Columbus is home to some of the nation's most prestigious universities, such as Ohio State University, making it an ideal destination for both students and professionals.

Ideally I am looking to purchase a place as an owner occupied rental and rent by the room to those who I already know need a place to stay and eventually turn that property into a September-May student rental and rent it as a vacation home during the summer months!

Ask a family member that trusts / knows  you to co-sign with you on the deal and cut them in or buy them out on terms that make sense for their level of participation. 

With a large student population in Wilmy, there is a great opportunity here for rental strategies.

I am grateful to the BiggerPockets community for participating and helping newcomers like me.

My interests are rental property investing in LTRs/MTRs/STRs, student housing and Section 8, SFHs and small MFHs, FHA househacking locally in Pennsylvania, and OOS investing in the Midwest/South/Sunbelt, particularly Ohio, Indiana, West Virginia, or North Carolina.