Having a reliable team of tradespeople is a good first step - that is a critical component of a successful project.  

Investors in NYC(and Long Island, I suppose,) depend on appreciation as a component of their return.

Hypothetically, you could obtain a blanket loan against your SFRs, but finding a lender to do one is harder than it used to be, and the cash-out component is going to be a hard sell.Still, nothing is easy these days and nothing ventured nothing gained right?

How old are various structural components and systems, including the roof, water heater, furnace, and plumbing system?

That of course is assuming you can determine the value to be equal to, or greater than the asking price.When I do a comp on a property I like to use a title company.

Encapsulant is a special coating, almost like liquid rubber, that needs to be applied to specific thickness and tests need to be done to the components to determine if we can even encapsulate.

Try "IRA Services Trust"...a lot less expensive than other custodians and service is as good as Equity Trust, except for the educational component which frankly you can get off their website for nothing.

Payment to you will have three components:1) return of the non taxable basis 2) capital gain 3) interest income.Your basis and the sale price will determine each of those components and your professional should for able to help you after you provide them with more detail. 

Structuring is a major component.

However I’ve been unable to find a comp on property.