There are many red flag involved in your initial post.

Lots of wealthy foreigners have speculatively driven NY real estate prices unnaturally high because they want to own a "piece of America"...investing in places like NY is more of a big game hunt for status rather than actually investing to generate passive income...And investing in houses is a fools game in general.

Most newbies that have herd mentality are buying those now.If you are trying to get safer investments you might want to buy brand new builds in a subdivision in a nice area stage 0 to 1 of development.Example you look at 2 options:Option 1 - Buy a house for 75k (Class C) that after mortgage payment is supposed to generate 150 a month income or 1,800 a year.Down payment 15,000    Result: In a few years rent growth in lower income areas is more limited due to income earnings.

I've forgotten the reason my lawyers had advised against it but usually the people can't qualify for a loan and while I own my properties free and clear, carrying the mortgage doesn't achieve my goal of generating cash so I can reinvest or work on my other projects. 

@Nicholas Norris it is true that you will have a higher mortgage initially but part of our real estate strategy is to use as little of our own money as possible.

Please review our website and reach out for an initial consultation. 

Guys, I am a GC and I can tell you to stay away from any lead generation services.

We have $25k for emergencies, and another $65k either in brokerage accounts or high interest savings/checking accounts, though we're pretty far behind in retirement savings due to some debt I had from the only other time I've been a landlord (a long story about getting screwed by a RE attorney/property manager from a home from my previous marriage), which has been paid off since 2013.I've known about my unemployment since Thanksgiving and am trying to move up the corporate ladder, but am finding it difficult to progress to in-person interviews for job titles that are above anything I've had yet, but I am getting initial interviews for VP/EVP/SVP roles with recruiters.

also, if you win the online court foreclosure auction, i assume the clerk of the court will payoff the first mortgage company who initiated the foreclosure action and pay them off and end of story right ?

We dont know what your cashflow is on the property, but based on the fact you have no reserves and no money to pay the mortgage, I assume it doesnt generate much.