I was pleasantly surprised with the rates and terms that USSCO had and I liked dealing with them because they are also my primary personal bank. 

I have a friend who is looking to stay somewhere this summer and offered me ~$2,500 to stay in my basement if I where to finish it in time (deadline is 2.5 months away).

I deal with buyers every day and get a good intimate look at comps.  

Back rent, current rent and future rent in time and as agreed to?

Taking care of maintenance while it is small so it doesn't cost as much in time and money.

I know it is painting in broad strokes, but when I hear of an engineer with a connection to Dayton it seems they usually have an intimate knowledge of the Ghetto.I am still pretty knew to the REI scene, but I do have a small multifamily in Kettering and reliable folks that I work with in Dayton and Cincinnati, so feel free to reach out if you have questions, need recommendations, or just want to spit ball ideas.Along with all the great resources on real estate investing and frugality available through BP, it may serve you well to check out The White Coat Investor (blog, podcast, or book) it is an investing/mindset book for high income earners (especially those with significant student loans).Best of luck.

I'm actually pleasantly surprised at how many responses I received from this topic.

The area is very street by street, with some very pleasant areas.

Each should be able to quote a price for rate and fees at that moment in time and assuming what you said was exact.

You do not have nearly the flexibility in timing earned income as expenses.