Of course, you need to choose your areas and decor wisely, so I recommend working with someone experienced who knows what the clients there are looking for.

"I know far too many people who regret selling real estate looking back 20 years, but I've yet to come across one who regrets keeping it."

Thus I am trying to determine if managing these from a far makes sense as I know a PM would destroy cash flow. 

I don't know the NYC market but I agree that strict landlord laws are a concern.I invest in the Bay Area in one of the most tenant friendly cities.

I mean how else would Sellers (or even perhaps buyers) know that you own a neighborhood? 

Like any tool, you have to know how to use it correctly or you could get, "injured".We use it to quickly sift through multiple options - and that's about it.BP has a Rental Calculator that includeds everything you are asking about: mortgage P&I, property taqxes, home insurance and percentage for maintenance & vacancy.It also includes Cap-Ex percentage, but in our experience it's a waste of time to worry about this.

Sorry one additional item I hit post too soon...The reason I asked about TIA is because you generally want to get a contractors opinion of cost prior to lease during that negotiating phase so you know how much that TIA covers and what you'll be coming out of pocket for.  

@Lindsey Matejak I don't know anyone who would know more about it than you!

Personally, I liked Debexpert more, but everyone has their own opinion and Paperstac is good to buy an asset if you know what you want and if you need to sell a note quickly.

I don’t know if innovative per se, but I’ve been investing with smaller amounts (5k-25k) into large multi million dollar projects by leveraging the investment club model.