Check your local regulations if you plan to rent out the house. 

If you wish to network or ask specific questions about your local market, you can go to your local real estate forum and discuss with investors from your area: https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/86-local-real-estate-networking 5.

He can spend the next few years-ish getting a finance degree through an online school while working part time, but he just got offered a full time position helping with sales for a local wholesale real estate company. 

How do you handle organizing this?

I have tried local governments sites with little luck. 

He is also no longer here locally and he left some belongings that i have in storage.

I'm a local real estate broker, investor, and manager (100+ rentals, mostly Airbnb/STR and multifamily).House hacking is a tried-and-true method and in Sacramento you can produce some meaningful income while enjoying the appreciation and tax benefits of owning real estate.

Since you're open to markets beyond NYC, you might want to connect with local investor meetups or REI groups in those areas to build relationships with agents, wholesalers, and lenders who understand the nuances of each market.If you're looking to break out of analysis paralysis, maybe start by narrowing down one or two target markets and running numbers on actual deals.

@Peter GoellerBecause they way Sec8 does it, is that their local Sec8 inspector is suppose to the know the market rate.So, let me clarify this. 

I found this deal from being a local.