I agree with everyone posting on this topic here @German Fernandez, @Tyler Munroe, @Deirdre Lizio.

This would hopefully maintain strong cashflow from the property will providing some capital to use for the next property acquisition. 

Thank you in advance for any help,Johanna

Deals like this, with additional income potential (garages, ADU, etc.), could help you cash-flow while you build equity - best of both worlds.Lastly, targeting properties that have been on the market 30+ days could be a good start.

How long does this period last in New York, and how does it impact the auction?

There's no noise before.They don't like to call for help.

This is literally asked monthly if not weekly.

It sounds like this is their personal residence.

It might help to eliminate the markets that you don't want to invest in to help narrow your search. 

There are some very aggressive investors that refi into interest only products to free up even more cash in the short term - this can be much more risky though, so not recommended if you are not very experienced and have large reserves.