Moved to NYC - should we buy our apartment or invest elsewhere?

[Cole Bennett]

We are currently going through a passive real estate crash course and learning about syndications, etc. We already own a duplex and quad in Lexington, KY - our hometown. They earn their way and a little more. Recent events caused us to move to NYC. Family of four: 2 kids, 13 and 16, renting a 2BR in midtown Manhattan for $5,300.

Trying to steer clear of analysis paralysis, I do feel we have some unusual circumstances that could take a little extra figurin'. We didn't ever figure we'd buy in Manhattan, but we could if we had to. If we're considering something like a $200k investment into a syndication, should we be considering how that money could be a downpayment on a (decent 2BR) $1M condo in NYC? Is that crazy? Should we stick with the more "straightforward" plan of syndication?

This question is probably only for people who know this market really well. We're still trying to figure out things like maintenance fees, etc. If we bought, we'd eliminate our exorbitant rent, but do condo/co-op owners really make much equity, even if the market does well? And what if (slight chance) we could buy a few units together, and rent some out?

TIA for anything. I'm new to this but have been binging BP podcasts for weeks and hope to be helpful to others in the near future!