Trust me, I have been there.I suggest you try to House hack in cities that you are already familiar with and have some connection with.Hire a great investor agent in that market and ask them all your questions and concerns.That I believe is the best way to get personalized advice tailored to your goals and lifestyle.You giving out Cleeveland and Toledo on your post will only attract biased opinions and advise.Only you know what you truly like, want, and can deal with.As Nicolas said, read this post and comments and hope that gives you a new perspective. https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/12/topics/1215726-break...https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/963/topics/1195280-expe...https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/48/topics/1137397-balti...Goodluck and keep us posted.

@Kyle TrotmanI would suggest speaking to local banks, and credit unions.

I don't use Stessa and never have so I don't know what's going on, but I suggested they take a look at Baselane, which is what I use.

My suggestion is to simply file the BOI requirement.

If you personally are having trouble making a profitable deal, make a post and ask for suggestions.  

Suggestions on learning more about contract for deed?

Suggested to do that earlier than later, so there is no liability on a tenant who is not on the lease paper.

In short, having all the conversations and commitments in strategy, setting up LLC and all the fun docs of who's doing what, and I'd suggest even getting initial funding into account for at least EM. 

A few things I’d suggest as a local investor:Know Your Markets: New England is a mix of urban, suburban, and rural areas with very different dynamics.

The Hilltop Mall (standard shopping mall, Macys, JC Penny, escalators, if you were alive in the 90s you know),  in Richmond CA was purchased in 2021, but the buyers aren't doing any of our brilliant peanut gallery suggestions.