Always excited to share ideas, encourage each other, and grow together in this journey.Also, huge respect for the clarity in your goals  building a 5+ property portfolio in 6 years is an awesome mission, and I’m cheering you on all the way!

Since you mentioned Cleveland, I’d also encourage you to take a look at Columbus, Ohio—very similar affordability but with stronger long-term fundamentals like rapid population growth, big employers moving in (Intel, Amazon, Google, Honda, Microsoft, etc.), and still plenty of properties in the $120–180K range that hit the 1% rule and cash flow with professional management.

Thank you @Bernice Retzloff for the welcome and the encouraging words!

I’m brand new to all of this, from the Boston area, and looking to buy in the suburbs.I’d love advice, encouragement, or even a partner/investor who might be open to helping me with my first deal.

I encourage people who are interested in long term wealth through different factors like rent stability, appreciation, depreciation to focus on B class properties that still have decent rental return numbers and also offer a bit more safety than lower end properties. 

In that case, we encourage you to learn more about Ryan Poske and Bildwise from other available sources, including word of mouth, other online reviews, and Indiana’s public court records.

So, owners mistakenly think price is the only differentiator – and look for a PMC like they’d shop for groceries☹We encourage you to learn from the mistakes of others by reading posts here on BiggerPockets from owners that picked a PMC solely by price and regretted it.We recommend exploring as many sources as possible to get referrals AND cross-reference them to get as much accurate information as possible.Check out NARPM.com, BP’s Property Manager Finder (BiggerPockets: The Real Estate Investing Social Network), etc.Even if someone gives you a referral, do NOT make the mistake of assuming that just because a PMC met their expectations, they’ll meet your expectations.

So, owners mistakenly think price is the only differentiator – and look for a PMC like they’d shop for groceries☹We encourage you to learn from the mistakes of others by reading posts here on BiggerPockets from owners that picked a PMC solely by price and regretted it.We recommend exploring as many sources as possible to get referrals AND cross-reference them to get as much accurate information as possible.Check out NARPM.com, BP’s Property Manager Finder (BiggerPockets: The Real Estate Investing Social Network), etc.Even if someone gives you a referral, do NOT make the mistake of assuming that just because a PMC met their expectations, they’ll meet your expectations.

I agree that I don't want to encourage host to be crappy and there really isn't much I'd like them to do other than providing two spaces which might not be possible. 

It's hugely a pent-up market demand that the slightest encouragement will topple.