I care most about the Internal Rate of Return (helps me determine how long to hold a property), the cash on cash return (helps me decide why this investment vs other options, and it also takes into consideration appreciation of the property!)

It sounds like my refrigerator/freezer is passing away! I would love any advice on landlords' favorite brands or models that last well and are not complicated. And are there any tricks to for the purchase as a landlor...

You're learning about the eviction process, tenant screening (never "word of mouth" again), the power of a lease WHEN not IF a neutral third party needs to be involved, tenant/landlord laws, and managing tenants who don't care about your business the way you do. 

What tips do you have for someone just getting started?

Best tips are take it slow and make sure you have significant reserves when you leave your w2 also don't buy a company car if you already have a car just to say it's for work.

Hope this helps for now, and great to hear you are paying attention to your hard earned retirement funds with such care and discipline! 

This is one of the things that @Matthew Irish-Jones mentioned above - be careful about putting #3 on his list above #1 and #2.

I would be very careful, especially not having any sort of licensing and promoting these products on a public forum.  

I would be very careful about what neighborhoods you invest in, though; Cleveland has some serious war zones. 

It could be for a family member, or a young renter who doesn't care much about cooking, or an AirBNB guest.Or, if push comes to shove, 2-4 unit Fannie/Freddie financing exists -- and this could be the push for originators to actually start paying attention to that market.