This is largely due to substantial investments made by major corporations like Intel, Honda, Nationwide Children's Hospital, and Wexner Medical Center in the area. 

Huge goals of mine as I have 2 young children and work in the auto industry where long hours are the norm. 

Is it because you have children or you just want to be in 'a good school district'2.

Our pets are our children and we treat them as such. 

This is why in the eyes of beginner (of both real estate investment and stock investment), they think both investments are passive.If simple house hacking itself is full of active business activity, a BRRR is even harder *hyper active* business activity with its unique reward/risk scenario, it's very far from passive activity and it should not be compared.Saying 8% return could be incorrect as well as it's all depends on when you buy, if one started investing at market top in 2021 they would see their account depleted rather than stable 8%.

I’m Svetlana, my husband and I are 1st-generation immigrants raising children here in the US - some brainstorming lead us to real estate investment as a tool to secure our family financial future.

Columbus is your best bet, it has seen great appreciation with many new jobs being created from large expansions by companies such as Intel, Honda, Amazon, Nationwide Children's Hospital and Wexner Medical Center.

This is due in large part to major corporations like Intel, Honda, Nationwide Children's Hospital, and Wexner Medical Center investing heavily in the region and creating numerous job opportunities.

You could set your sights on a small SFH on the west side that is in close proximity to the Xcel center, W7th corridor, children's and regions hospitals, etc. 

Illegal sanitary water work destroys property, hurts people (typically children and the elderly), leads the news, and makes top local politicos look like they can't get their thumbs out.So the problem with not pulling building permits (with special attention given to plumbing permits) if you're in this business for keepsies is that sooner or later, the odds catch up to you, and once they do, your name is mud and your career as a landlord is over.