If that's the case, can you personally afford to float the property for that long with no rent coming in - because in this environment, it might not come in.

As opposed to moving elsewhere to a unknown environment.

I have now 6 different quotes and my question regarding the amount was answered 3 times by 'whatever you feel comfortable with'...

If you are not comfortable renovating a property, turn-key may be the better option. 

A 2,000 sq.ft. home with two bedrooms can fit five people more comfortably than a 500 sq.ft. apartment with two bedrooms.

The buyers agent just notified me that the buyer is backing out now because he was using his 401k money to retire with and now that he has lost 35-40% he is not comfortable moving to a new location and buying a house.

(In Tri-State or elsewhere) Does anyone expect to begin seeing more as the current environment continues?

I'd say there's never a "right time" to invest; however, the "right deal" can come along at any time.True, the current financial environment is unprecedented in most of our lifetimes.

@Arthur Davis - if you're looking to pull money out for investment purposes, I think it's a safe bet to hold off for now, as there are too many variables in the current environment. 

Biggest consideration will be finding a quad in a C neighborhood that passes the “am I comfortable moving my family here” test.