I am not familiar with the Cleveland, OH market, however, if you do not find what you are looking for and want to look at other excellent investment markets in the South East, then you need to take a look at Birmingham, AL, Huntsville, AL and Tuscaloosa, AL. 

If I were to manage the property myself, what would be the necessary steps I should take to make sure I can do this remotely. 3.

Can I take out a $150K note against my 50% ownership?

But the idea of taking my cabins offline for that long is painful. 

This is a great place to learn and to connect with people so take advantage of all the great resources.

Would it be smart for us to sale our primary, take the equity, buy our family home, then begin saving to buy our first rental property?

Should take no longer than 10 months to build.

So in this scenario the only profit is in the yearly appreciation and increased equity of $6,000 per year of principal payments.Exit Plan is to sell, take the equity and likely use in another investment.If I sell now instead of renting the upside I see is pocketing $85k in appreciated value after paying real estate fees.

The process of purchasing a property takes a little time, but typically less than 60 days.

You don't usually get to inspect the property before buying so you take a large risk.