I think that is in the sweet spot. 

He was quick to get it under contract within hours of listing sending his realtor to look at it and send him video (out of state investor) just to get it off the market but now he is taking his sweet time at my expense with listing time on the MLS since it's marked pending and NO ONE comes to look at a pending house.

We are passive investors as well as syndicators, so I understand both sides of the coin.Syndicating larger deals is our sweet spot now...but not without its own struggles.  

Dual agency is legal in New York, and it's sweet for the agent (because the agent can double side the commission), but it's really not the best situation for a buyer and a seller.Dual agency requires you to give up some of the fiduciary duties that an agent owes to you - so you're really getting diminished service by using the seller's agent in the same transaction.At a bare minimum, ask the seller's agent if you can use another agent in his brokerage - that way at least you can keep all of the fiduciary duties intact. 

There was a super sweet multi at Durango and 215 (north side) that sat empty for 5 years after being built but I could never find anyone to talk to about it.

And you'll also have to recapture depreciation for the time you used it as a rental.So it's not as sweet but still not a bad deal. 

So if you went this route you'll probably get 3/5ths of the gain tax free and you'll have to recapture depreciation.Unfortunately that's not nearly as sweet as you had been hoping. 

I figured this would help find any sweet spots from a timing perspective as to when it became more advantageous to buy vs rent.The first section shows what you would gain on your cash investment if it compounded annually at a chosen rate.

Our restaurant scene has really been blossoming, we have anything you could ever be interested in when it comes to outdoors stuff, great wine community, theater, arts, etc.  

Then follow it up with a fantastic thank you note and a nice bottle of wine or whiskey.