I did hear castle and Royal or Rose sorry I forgot the name were used by other investors.

I think this likely the starting point for how to structure any deals.

Living in Connecticut but selling an investment property using a 1031 and looking at the Cleveland market.

For market, I always recommend the one that you know the best first and to only look elsewhere if you know your market really well and are certain that the strategy you want to use won't work well there.

Given the way you’ve conducted yourself over the last few days, it wasn't easy to wait.

As if it's easy and common - ha!  

You could potentially go conventional with 10–15% down for a second home (if you plan to use it part time), or explore DSCR options if you want to go fully investment based and qualify on projected income.I’m a mortgage broker and investor myself, so if you want help running numbers, strategizing on loan structure, or getting connected to local resources, I’m happy to help!

He is using his security deposit which you told him he could not do. 

Here is a simpler way to put it.#1 priority must be the ability to hold. 

I currently have about $20k in my bank account, I would look to put about 10-15k in a HYSA, and deposit monthly.