Our privately owned and centrally controlled monetary system, known as the Federal Reserve, and the legality of Fractional Reserve Banking is on a crash course for a battle between Freedom (Property Owners) and Royalty (the banks). 

Focus on tax-saving strategies such as cost segregation studies and bonus depreciation to accelerate deductions.By qualifying as a Real Estate Professional (spending 750+ hours annually and materially participating), you can offset your wife’s S-Corp income with real estate losses, reducing your tax liability.

Single family homes are exempt from rent control when privately owned.  

I’m unable to invest in areas familiar to me as I’m priced out of suburban NJ where I was born and raised.I’m looking to spend $150-$180K on a condo and will need to research viable areas.

Based on what you wrote, it sounds like your project partner lost control and got pushed over by the contractors.

Rather than just spending the money on a rate buy down. 

So you're willing to pay $30,000 for their furniture when you could spend $5,000 on your own?

They also are thinking of getting a different PM to manage it after they can gain back control but would like advice on doing so.

New York is hard to evict people and you'll end up spending more time and money doing it yourself.

You have no control over the servicing transfers.