I have a potential private lender, but I need to determine if this is a viable investment opportunity and explore the best financing options 

I’ll continue to explore a couple other options in the meantime. 

Look for undervalued properties.Network: Connect with local real estate agents, contractors, and other investors for insights and deals.Analyze Properties: Use the 1% rule to evaluate potential properties (monthly rent should be at least 1% of the total investment).Secure Financing: Explore different financing options like conventional loans, hard money loans, or private lenders.As for timing, if you can handle the extra responsibility, starting now could give you a head start.

Hey Neil, Welcome to the forum and to exploring NYC real estate!

I am pretty sure they give free consultations to explore your financial position and current cashflow, to see how Tardus could be of help to you and if they would be a good fit for achieving your goals.I have been looking at Tardus and one of my primary questions is how they identify "fast burning" vs "Slow burning" fuel.

Getting back to the original post, what would be a strategy you'd explore given his circumstances?  

We had a client that bought in Port huron and then ended up selling their property because they went through 3 PMCs and gave up trying to find a great one:(Some copy and paste advice below:--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Recommend exploring as many sources as possible to get referrals AND cross-reference them to get as much accurate information as possible.Check out NARPM.com, BP’s Property Manager Finder (BiggerPockets: The Real Estate Investing Social Network), etc.Also, encourage you to learn from the mistakes of others - by reading posts here on BiggerPockets about owners not having their expectations met by their current Property Management Company.

Without knowing much, I definitely encourage you to explore a lease-to-own option. 

.✅ Exploring creative ways to get deals done, even without a ton of upfront capital.I know that success in real estate is a team sport.

Yes, I’m based out of Riverside and currently exploring wholesaling here.