I wish it was things won't pick up here for about another year or longer depends all on the price of oil and who becomes President..I would love to try New York ...Any suggestions of where I would start there?

However, arbitration is almost always presided over by a retired judge

DC area vice small town area?  

We have low inventory issues - foreign cash buyers - a rising economy & low interest rates with a pro-property president - having said that the norm of 7 year bull and 7 year bust cycles has already been jinxed & there are still newer local markets in some states where appreciation is on the up due to good schools - demand vs supply & high median income.

Great idea. or we can use it vice-versa.

Plus, this way you're building a relationship and they might have other properties for you down the road and vice versa.

(And I'll second @Adam M. on Robinhood -- great choice for low-cost stock investing).Coincidentally, I attended an Online Lending meetup in New York last night, and one of the speakers was Ron Suber, the president of Prosper.

The better the property, the lower the cashflow and [presumably] less headaches & vice versa. 

Small PMs do not cater to large properties and vice-versa.

I mean, look at the President (no example) but look at rich guys, savvy guys who *get* all this stuff.