I had my heart set on a nice little condo in Austin, but a duplex sounds a lot more profitable now that you mention it.Ideally, if I could find someone who would sell me a nice condo or duplex in central Austin in that budget range and within my preferences in this crazy market, I'd go for it.

However, with that, our mortgage payment becomes closer to the $1570 range.   

People are willing to make a lot of compromises when they've been looking for 8+ months for rentals in their price range with no luck...

Let's say that if you are buying something in the under $150k range, you are not going to be in a good neighborhood.

My partner is also in the PM business, like yourself.We're working to build out our business model to focus on the investor market needs, ranging from basic painting/punch/handy-type stuff, to jobs needing a licensed GC. 24 hour emergency contact is also on the list.Feel free to let me know if you'd like chat further.Thanks-Greg

The ARV I expect to be in the 150K range.

If you're flexible in terms of where you live in NY, then you can look for parts of the state that offer fourplexes within your price range.

If you don't have financials, you can calculate the expected NOI by multiplying the number of occupied spaces currently paying rent by the monthly lot rent, then multiply by 12 months, subtract the expenses, which can range from 30-50% depending on variables, so use 40% for your back of the napkin analysis.

Once the construction was complete, we would want to either sell or refinance and take the cash on to build a dream home elsewhere.Comparable sales prices would be in the $450K to $550K range. 

I pretty much always do $25 - $50/year increases to help keep the home at market rents (rents range from 1100-1600), but it's not so much at a time that it either incites them to move or causes too much stress on the tenant.