I just did not see that as reasonable for a home of the price range to 1) sell quickly nor 2) command a strong sales price or get into a multiple offer bid off.

As an investor event's like this make me stay away from investing within 5 miles.I have decided to open up my search range within an hour out of the city such as Yonkers, Northern NJ, and even a little further.Also as a primer on calculating ARV to compare two properties use this file http://www.biggerpockets.com/files/user/JasonScott/file/estimating-arv by @J Scott

Most of the time it ranges from $250 to $500. 

Always get the house in the range of the rent that you are already paying so that it won’t be heavy on you to pay the mortgage.

In my area, the condo rent out very quickly for the price range of $1650 - $1700.

My plans is to purchase, over the next 3-4 years, 4 duplexes in the $50k range.

However, here are some random thoughts:If 60% of rental income provides sufficient retirement income, you can probably afford to do nothing :-) This has the added benefit of continued capital appreciation, relatively easy single family home management and tax free stepped up basis on first death.

Rates and terms are generally in the 4.5% to 6.5% range or higher depending on the properties, loan amount and borrowers strength.  

Late payments and criminal activity should be sufficient grounds to evict. 

It seems like multiple estimates provide the whole picture, and allow a "range" of possibilities.