Just having that additional level of accountability tends to tame the problems before they start. 

I’ve tried several of those and found I tend to go faster which causes messy lines.

I tend to lean towards the advisors that are able to give advice on investments, retirement, real estate, taxes and business consulting.

The biggest issue for new investors is they tend to push deals that are not anywhere close to a good deal.  

But for now this tends to be a blue collar area.

I tend to head to Rochester at least once a month anyway to see family so it really hasn't added that much additional travel... 

They tend just to be higher risk higher award deals... more value add available then most places in the country, especially with rent stabilization.

(the further away you get from Greenmount - the better - west of greenmount tends to be better than immediately east, but not going to find deals in Guilford)If you're having trouble deciding on which one to go with, to me, it sounds like the place on the west side would be a better investment especially if it appraises for $30k - $40k more than the place on 33rd street - and it's closer to you. 

My tenants tend to be younger and very open to technology and automating monthly bills. 

Reception halls are tough-- their business is absolutely tied to micro and macro economic events, not to mention susceptible to being undercut by competition (Unless they have a great hotel or restaurant name attached to them-- those tend to be the qualities that mitigate reception-risk.)