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.

Zillow, Redfin, Trulia, local county website, Google Maps/Earth, etc....you can get a pretty good idea of the condition and neighborhood most properties are in just using available technology.   

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. 

If you haven't already, I'd suggest checking out @Dawn Anastasi's e-book through her website www.coreprop.biz.

While catching up with an online gaming buddy I haven't spoken to in 5 years, he mentioned this website and podcast. 

Crazy how time flies...Anyway, in my spare time, I have built a 100% free (seriously) real estate exam prep website.

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.

What websites did you find useful in conducting your own title search ?