Obviously, interest rates in general have declines A LOT more than the decline in my target yield.In 1981 I had my choice of notes.

I think a townhouse in West midtown could be the best bet for you to house hack of sorts.

That's definitely unique and I bet a lot of people could benefit from something like that.Happy to connect if you are ever down in the city.

If you don't have that comfort level, having a professional is always a safe bet but could delay your ability to get under contract quickly. 

I bet the drivers would appreciate being paid upon completion of the task as well. 

At this point in time, I would rather bet on a rental bounce locally (not necessarily in the city) based on a post-covid recovery, rather than perpetual shrinking cap rates in those hot out-of-state markets (given that cap rates here are potentially equal or better than those other markets atm, and we may be headed into a higher interest rate environment).That's not to say other markets won't make people money.

If the home is not worth the note value, your best bet is to try to acquire it through a short sale from the current owner.

If you value time ans want a truly passive investment, your best bet is to partner with someone that has the investing skills and time, but lacks capital. 

As others have mentioned, an eviction will set you back far more than round trip drives twice a month, AND I bet a judge would laugh you out of court.Post-dated checks is one possibility, as has been mentioned.

As much as I rather not go through this I guess I have no choice but to because of these tenants.