It is difficult to be a successful landlord if you can't read people, because credit reports and income verification doesn't tell you anything about how much of a PITA the tenant is going to be or how reasonable they will behave as a human being.

As many investors have echoed - NYC is a very expensive marketYou have the following options1) Investing in NYC - require large capital and a good choice if you are banking on appreciation in the future.2) Invest in upstate NY or CT/MA/PA/NJ3) Invest through a turnkey property4) Househack(may be difficult in NYC but doable in parts of NJHave you looked into attending any local real estate events in NYC? 

Bar none, the best commercial financing on multi's is Freddie Mac & Fannie Mae small balance loans. 1 - 6 million loan amounts.

The interest accrued is added to the balance just like any other savings account.

One $1k thing went $483 to a plumber, the balance to city utility bills. 

Apparently chase assumes 1% of the HELOC against debt so i am being slapped with a $4350 payment assumption despite having 0 outstanding balance on it.

2-4 is easy, but 5+ can be difficult because you're entering the commercial realm and that has more restrictions, usually requiring experience and has high minimum loan amounts.Definitely agree that you should get pre-approved with a refi lender first before finding a deal or a hard money lender. 

I'm all for being conservative and feeling comfortable with making an investment, but there's got to be a balance.

I currently have about 35k cash and have been approved by the bank for 200K but having a difficult time simply finding deal.   

(such folks are called syndicators... the highest breed of individuals who are pretty much very smart.. and know if deal makes sense or doesn't... these are the folks that are also connected with other people...... these are the folks who you want to also get in touch with and stay connected.... )  Note however.. that sometimes... relying on other folks to be the ones to give you money... just for you having your boots on the ground.... indeed can be very difficult journey... but believe me there are passionate folks out there who like to analyze deals, but do not have trustworthy individuals with boots on the ground... and looking for some sort of mutual relationship in their journey towards financial freedom..You see... it's all about the value that you provide... to others.. and reasoning as to why they should be associated with you...