If you breach the property and enter, you are exposed to all kinds of issues and claims of “missing silver, good and Picasso art.” 

Once you factor in paying for furniture it could really skew your cash on cash return.

It depends on your unique situation, finances, real estate goals, the breakdown of this particular deal, etc...What was the deciding factor for my wife and I was that the pain we were going through was temporary.

You'll expose it to a wider pool of buyers and you'll be more likely to find the person who will pay the highest price. 

Luckily, I didn't have a tenant yet, so the time lag was not a huge factor. 

@Lawrence Kutsovsky I think the biggest factor to consider is what is your goal, who do you want to be around, and who do you NEED to be around in order to achieve what you want to in real estate.

It's hard for me to fathom that this minor of a factor could be the thing that stops us from pursuing our real estate investment dream together, and although I am feeling down and close to giving up after today's news, I know that I can't. 

The rule in lending is you will always get a lower rate and a higher LTV loan to value on your primary home.So if you tie up money in a smaller investment and then need cash your limited by two factors the loan size and the Non-owner occupancy if it s a rental you get a lower LTV.

Some factors to take into account will be the overall condition of the property and current rental income in comparison to market rents (comps).Queens has many SFR with liveable basements so you may be able to find someone willing to househack and keep the current tenants but you'd be working with a very specific buyer pool and this could lead to less interest in the home, a lengthy selling process and a below-market selling price.With regards to giving notice to the tenants, assuming you're going to aim to close when their lease is up in April, I'd mention it 30-60 days before putting the property on the market.

You make some great points about growing job markets and other factors that could be promising.