In addition to the local market appeal of Manhattan being a major employment center, a destination frequented by tourists, and severely space-constrained, international investors (the Chinese in particular) like to hold NYC real estate as a place to park their money.

Frequently we will replace light fixtures and vanities that function but are eyesores.

I wouldn't give up - just learn from the mistakes and don't repeat them.

I've frequently considered rental properties, but never pulled the trigger, until now.For the past two years, I've traveled nearly weekly for work.

I feel like if I were to start a company that would help out Flippers/Investors, then I would surround myself around these types of people more frequently, and it would allow me to acquire properties more efficiently in the long run and would allow me to get out of the "9-5".

I'm not going to repeat the SEC filing and county data facts here, but I posted details on this BP topic (post is toward bottom of page 3): Fannie Mae tightens lending standards on Investment HomesUsing the quarterly differences between on 2019 foreclosure counts (recorded counts) vs. 2020 foreclosures, the "pent up" opportunity (the Serviceable Available Market) in Wake county is on the order of a few hundred properties.  

Might as well try to get everyday you can out of these by continuing to do annual servicing and frequent filter changes. 

I have found some City offices difficult to work with, permitting especially...but, I bet if I was a contractor that pulled permits frequently, it wouldn't be as large of a hassle.

One leads to repeat and retaining business.

This story is repeated over and over by people that want to start a business.