My primary goal is long term appreciation and I'll accept a property that breaks even on cash flow.

During the term period, do i take over mortgage payments and pay the seller a rental fee/rental premium from the cash flow?

These are areas where you can cash flow in Columbus because the rent-to-price ratio is favorable.

The $100K is the amount we ask investors to be prepared to pay out of pocket for downpayment + rehab + coliving upgrades. 

The pros: - not having to do a major renovation from out of state- easier to get a conventional loan since the house is livable vs. a distressed property (would need to pay cash, do a hard money loan, some other type of financing)- can get a tenant in quicklyThe cons: - you don't know how good the renovation is, could be cosmetic without addressing underlying safety issues (plumbing, electrical, foundation, etc). - a home can pass an inspection but once someone is living in it and putting daily stress on the house (turning faucets on, light switches, turning on heat/AC etc), things can start to malfunction.

My wife and I have made several offers on multifamily houses recently but keep being beaten out by (lower) cash offers.

Assume the property is well located with average appreciation ...Selling some properties of mine and just curious what the average investor buyer is thinking ...Thanks guys I wouldn't personally recommend deliberately buying a property you believe will be negative cash flow.

The higher rates have somewhat slowed down the "get rich quick with no money down" crowd as financing is more difficult, but I still see a lot of new investors with serious cash or purchasing power.

Another option is cash for keys but I have never done this but others on this forum have and can probably advise further.

I'd look into doing a cash-out refi on your rentals.