I got to know the Louisville area very well during my life, but do not know anything about the Columbus area; popular, growing, safe neighborhoods etc.  

It seems that about half of the neighborhood have owners that include utilities and the other half that either use RUBS or have lease agreements where tenants agree to pay a set monthly utility fee to owner in addition to their rent payment.  

I ruled out some of the cities and towns where BP investors seem to be flocking to, because it gets cold in Ohio, Indiana, Michigan and that means broken water pipes, accidents, leaks, and especially the neighborhoods these $50k and $60k houses are in.

MLS -- searched on-and-off for 2 years for right combination of price, neighborhood, and number of vacant units.

This will queue you in to what neighborhoods in your market that do better than others and help you be able to quickly analyze a property when you are ready to buy.

I would love to network with someone next time I'm in the neighborhood. 

If a 2/1 with carport is common in the neighborhood, fine.

@Nate Richards have you ever been in a class D neighborhood? 

My investment style is fairly conservative (multiple buy/hold rentals) balanced with low-cost index ETFs in our 401ks and brokerage account.

Land and style of home and the area and privacy How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?