does anyone know how the new legislation in New York in December is going to benefit investors in ny are there houses that are not listed for sale right now that are already bank owned . 

They should be familiar with foreclosures, short sales, auction.com as avenues for procuring deals.2.

Should that purchase and sale agreement include that the owner is to transfer to me her holding of the existing renters' damage deposit and last month's rent?

Purchase would be from the R.M. but you would need to verify the owner is no longer in residence (both parties).I would expect all RM's to be underwater and thus never expect any margin left for FMV sale even it you obtained title.

There aren't many in town for sale and they are more like 150k and rent for 475 or so for 5 units.

I am reaching out because I am looking for further knowledge on borrowing money from private and hard money lenders so I am hoping someone can answer my questions.When it comes to private money or hard money for an apartment or commercial building, multi family or even single family, what is the process you take in acquiring the money to close a deal?

Even better...once you acquire several properties, you can take the extra cashflow from all of them and rapidly pay down one mortgage at a time.  

The funny thing is, yes, I'm looking to acquire some new investment properties for myself.

It just went into foreclosure and when I called the bank to inquire about it, they said they have no information and to wait for the sheriff's sale.

I have found that Realtor Associations are great at writing sales contracts but allow for way too many gaps in their leasing documents.