I advertise for houses - commercial and non-conforming properties - so I might get a motel one day, a farm, land or just houses - banding on radio works - call any time.

I've narrowed down my paths to buying my first home next summer with either option a or b, most likely, and seller financing seems like the way to go, but I want to make sure I don't get myself into a bunch of trouble by doing so.Thanks guys and I truly appreciate any feedback on seller financing in expensive/bustling markets.

I would start looking into lenders either hard money or private lenders see what you qualify for in order to narrow down projects you can take on

I've tried to narrow my search to the tri-state area or basically NY,NJ,CT,PA...NYC is a shot in the dark for me but hey...

Also have you narrowed your market down to a zip or a couple of zip codes?  

Once you narrow your focus and find your why, investing becomes easier. 

I agree with @Anton Ivanov, at the VERY least you need to have a representative inspecting it for you.However, while I will agree with people here that say, especially on your first deal (and your first deal with any new provider in the future), it is important to lay eyes on a property, I think your chief issue is something a bit more basic - you haven't narrowed down your market or your turnkey provider yet, which leaves you needing to investigate properties all over the country. 

He'll need that much for the house just to replace all of those band saw blades.  

And the margins are narrow. 

Unless you meet a VERY narrow and VERY specific set of criteria, the general rule of thumb is to never own investments in an S-Corp.