New Investor, but i live in a hot market. Where do I begin?

[Chrisovalantis Boutsikos]

Hi all, I'm a new investor trying to buy my first rental property. I live in Long Island, New York. I make 6 figures, my DTI < 10%, I have excellent credit, I've been pre-approved for a 650k loan, and have a nice chunk of change sitting in the bank. I've looked at a dozen homes and have been outbid on everything (4 offers total). The median price for a home is 525-550k, according to Realtor.com that is a 17% increase in the last year alone. Anyone have any advice for a new investor who lives in such an expensive market?

 I've looked at lower end homes that are in 200k-300k price range, but they were horrible. They had asbestos shingles, propane gas for washer/dryer/stove, oil for heat with 50-year-old burner. With lumber costs as high as I've ever seen them, renovations on these seemed it would be 50% of the entire cost of the property itself.

As a New Yorker, reading stories of other BiggerPockets Investors buying houses for 100k to 150k and collecting 1200-1500 rents seems too good to be true. I'm hoping I can connect with fellow investors that can shed some light on how to invest in a hot market like NY or long-distance investing. 

Thanks