Renting it out while strategically leveraging the equity could be the best path forward.As @Jaycee Greene said, DSCR looks at your credit rather than DTI.

Many community banks will give you credit for proforma rents.  

Contractors, unless you have a working relationship with them, normally do not want you bouncing ideas off them.Understand what their hourly rate is, have a discussion with them that you are okay with paying them an hourly rate if they walk the property with you and provide you a scope of work along with an explanation of what you can/can't get away with in regards to improvements.ask them if you go with them, if they can credit you the amount that you paid.Once you develop a working relationship with a few contractors, you can bounce ideas off them and expect quality responses.I do not invest in New York.Best of luck. 

Consider the possibility that the property is already priced quite fairly.

@Jeff G. not aware of that, but sure it's available for a price from Fair Isaac Co or one of the credit repositories.

My understanding was that since the previous landlord had it rented out, if i want to rent it it need to follow the rent control value they gave it (which was a fair number in my case). 

While I’ve flipped a fair amount of houses, Iv never done one one while living in it.

The only other option I see is a short sale, if you don't need to purchase for a few years and don't mind a temporary credit hit to save the $60k.  

You can't run a credit/criminal without the social.

WE dont pay a fee for the credit line as I mentioned just 1/2 point for each new loan..