None of my friends who rent in the area, regardless of mom & pop landlord or major management company, have had to fill out W9 forms nor appear in person at a bank...The interest rate on those escrow accounts is comically low, barely above the state minimum that you are required to give back to the tenant. 

Just barely meets the 1% rule but numbers look pretty good.

But when you add up the numbers it doesn't work and you barely make a return.

If not, then this should be no different.Your tenant's personal lives have no baring on your business. 

But yes having separate accounts for each property can work as well - just bear in mind that tenant's deposits have to be in an interest - baring/escrow type account. 

The problem is, there is barely anything to compare it to.

Appreciation... don’t get me wrong, I get that its tough to invest in NY/NYC because of how cost prohibitive it can be but keep in mind that the NYC unit vs. the other unit will not go up in value by anywhere near the same amount... some areas of the country barely gain value over long periods of time, which is not the case in NYC...

Im barely breaking even on my budget and I really only have a 3,000/month budget.

I am new to this so I am barely dipping my foot in the water but I hear so many great stories I feel like I have to give it a shot.

His credit is still really bad and he still has the same job that barely pays enough for him to get by.