I'm extremely open to changing my mind though, SEO just keeps pulling such amazing results.

I don't invest there (currently) but Columbia continually shows extremely strong data.

This is fairly standard in the Westchester area given most homes are 100+ years old and the building code / inspectors didn't really come to power until the 70s or 80s.Likely your real estate agent will note the issues. 

Verifying last 2 years of rental history and income extremely important to find the “best of the worst”.

I found one had been sold, and I was extremely surprised to find that there were none for sale at all. 

Anyone have great experiences with highly efficient, extremely effective PMs in the area?

Go to Etsy and search for "rental property tracker," and you will find hundreds of nice spreadsheets to track 10-20 rentals, usually for under $10.Software has extremely helpful features like online payments, marketing syndication (click a button, and your property is advertised on multiple sites), electronic document review/signing, maintenance tracking, and owner reports.

There is no cash flow involved with a personal residence not being used for business purposes.Avoiding leverage on RE involving cash flow negates the power of using OPM, other people s money.

Yes, I've closed on 4, rehabbed them, and they are all rented with tenants in place :)OK, and for these deals, I assume you use your own funds to acquire and rehab.With private money, you're now substituting some individual's funds for your own.However, unlike when it was just your money, you'll need to proceed with extreme caution to make certain your lenders are well protected if/when things don't go as planned.Private lending is its own whole profession.

This project demonstrated the power of smart improvements and teamwork, delivering a strong return on investment.