Hi Rolf - The costs will vary depending on the design of the building among a variety of other factors.

What's the end game and how does the mortgage help you get there?

I agree with you 100% not to get into the business to be emotionally attached to tenants and that end game your focus should be maximizing how much your property is valued at.My question to you based off that is in your opinion, based off your experience, when dealing with inherited tenants, do you view them as assets or liabilities? 

This is an entrepreneur's game of cart before the horse and horse before the cart at once--place property under contract not knowing if the deal will happen and spending at-risk soft cost dollars. 

Innovative shed décor can turn the old gardening shed into a haven of tranquility for mom or a gaming studio for those noisy teens.SummaryBy choice or lack there of, many more people are living in smaller spaces and will continue to for the next few years.

The scores vary a bitDispute any errors (if any) in your reports to get them removed.Keep your credit applications to a minimum.

Personally I like the idea of having a few properties owned outright , simply for safety / risk reduction to keep the wheels turning in tough times and there will always be tough times or massive expenses if your in this game long enough .

I know that assignments are the game, but I need to look further into the gray area between selling the contract and being considered as a broker for the property in question under NYC law.

I'm pretty new to the game as well, but I might be able to give some leads on what you're looking for.With you being a Real Estate Investor, that puts you into a different category than a normal everyday home buyer that Realtors are used to dealing with. 

You also have the Hard Money loan route if you absolutely must move forward with the deal.If your family has money, why not use that monies to fix your credit and in turn you can pay them back when you run into a good deal or share profits on a good deal.Cash is king but like in the game of chess, credit represents a Queen which is the most powerful asset you can have in this game called RE.