New York real estate is a different animal from most of the country, so it has it's own unique challenges and intense competition, but I hear success stories all the time from friends in the business making big profits on multiple deals in the 5 boroughs.

A little bit more than paint, but a lot less labor-intensive.

Sober living, with more difficult tenants, liability concerns, and intensive property management fits into that.

Any other route and you'll be taking on a HUGE risk as sub-100k properties mostly take some intense market knowledge and experience to be successful in the long run. 

I let him know what my intensions are and offered to work for free in exchange for some knowledge.

REI is capital intense and how would a newbie investor invest in a buy and hold deal without steadily W2 income…(I often see posts reaction like “oh I’m 18 years old I want to get into real estate or I want to drop out college into REI).

Strategies I see working well in my area are value add (most buyers here are looking for move-in ready so those willing to take on a project can purchase, rehab, and gain a lot of equity quickly), medium term rentals (very high demand and can rent for close to STR rates while complying with regulations and being less management intensive), and flipping.

That’s a labor intensive endeavor!!

All I did was look at a property, run the comps, and got a reno budget, So nothing to intense.

Our last rental was LT but I'm excited about the potential (increased income, flexibility to have friends/family stay, hopefully less management intensive than STR with less red tape/taxes) and my wife is excited to furnish/decorate.