Any additional mail costs $.50-$.76 depending on the size... so to prevent you from having hundreds of $.50 charges on your credit card, the default "reload" is $50 (you can set this to whatever you like in the app).Hope this helps....

After communicating with a prospective resident (Google Voice #, usually by text), with just a name, telephone number and email, the applicant can pay $55 to provide us with a background, eviction and credit check.

If my target would be low income residents, are there any grants, tax credits, or funds available to help me with the conversion? 

Contractors, unless you have a working relationship with them, normally do not want you bouncing ideas off them.Understand what their hourly rate is, have a discussion with them that you are okay with paying them an hourly rate if they walk the property with you and provide you a scope of work along with an explanation of what you can/can't get away with in regards to improvements.ask them if you go with them, if they can credit you the amount that you paid.Once you develop a working relationship with a few contractors, you can bounce ideas off them and expect quality responses.I do not invest in New York.Best of luck. 

Bank Credit Line How did you add value to the deal?

If I didn't have to use credit for a portion of the course cost ($7k) and marketing costs ($1k/mo), I would do the course. 

Also putting a business card and flyer on the door could work.

The only other option I see is a short sale, if you don't need to purchase for a few years and don't mind a temporary credit hit to save the $60k.  

Once you start processing the credit/criminal, the money is spent, and you can't get it back.

Alternatively, if the bank ( assuming there is a bank) is fine with it, you could negotiate a credit and escrow the funds to be released after you do it yourself.