That may lower your closing costs, but most lenders have minimums (usually $65K or more) for what they’ll lend. 

I then lowered the offer price to 70k since I wouldn’t be able to complete the due diligence piece.

I do see that my NJ and NC taxes due are slightly lower for each state though.

One way to minimize vacancy is to lower your rent.

I started looking a bit into Rochester which has a way lower price point for multi families and single families but obviously I would be unable to house hack as it is 5 hours away from NYC which I will not be commuting lol.

NonQM "shops" offer a variety of loan types, DSCR being one but they are the lower rates and fees.

With the lower price point rentals, you basically just tread water.

I have heard positive things - expect lower overall returns in exchange for them doing the work! 

@Erlson Neba Much less stress and headaches than rentals especially for lower end areas where the ongoing maintenance will most likely diminish any return you may hope to make and where appreciation cannot be expected.

As far as ethically that is part of my nature and I don't care for the aggressive (potentially predatory) strategies discussed by others, but I see value in offering a transparent and convenient service with lower costs and faster turnarounds than traditional MLS transactions.