I figure you can not go wrong as NYC will always host employment opportunities, and I'm familiar with the direct train lines to NYC.

I can see why.. also personal preferences have a way of clouding judgement.. there are many reasons why trying to hold business investments or conduct any type of business as a sole proprietor makes not much sense.. it doesn't mean it doesn't for you though.I also don't remember him saying he wanted legal advice but rather trying to decide which state to incorporate.

I would expect the closing and a warranty deed would cost less than $1,200 unless there are clouds on the title or previous liens which must be cleared before a title insurance policy can be issued.

"The lien puts a “cloud” the title to the property, which obstructs the homeowner’s ability to sell or refinance.

That is why you hear the magic number of somewhere between 250 and 350 properties as being the critical mass number you  need to achieve to be profitable and that is with a full host of acceptable charges that a management company can capture.  

That will be up to the title company, if the option has been filed it would cloud title, if the TI company wants to insure over it, that's fine.

Unless you want the RE commission on your neck, along  with a host of other agencies, I suggest you not use bait and switch tactics or false ads as Daniel suggested.Start thinking of RE as being a social business, it takes people relationships.

I recently attended a free seminar on real estate investing where the gentleman who was hosting essentially stated that he operates better with clearly outlined steps and activities.

Do some searches on here, I think there are lots of folks who use quickbooks and even some discussions of cloud based solutions or other software options.

You can do this and you wouldnt have to be relying on a system like Zillow or some big hosting site with lots of other competitors.