That would be the easiest way to connect with some before you go meet them.

I'd prefer something with at least a moderate cash flow that would appreciate so I could meet ROI goals. 

Good deal flow (you should ask them how many deals they sold in the past 6 months)List deals that meet your specific investment criteriaResponsiveTrustworthy (for example, offering memorandum is accurate, rental comps are accurate)Offers connections to other real estate professionals (e.g., mortgage brokers, property management, etc.)Open book: allows you to ask questions about their current and past listings

What does a Qualified Mortgage mean, it means the lender must adhere to the ATR (Ability to Repay) requirements, which means you must fully document all your income and assets and its proven your debt ratio and reserve requirements meet the loans guidelines. 

You can probably find buyers at a local meet up or even auction.  

Does anyone know of any upcoming networking events, meetings, or RE seminars in NYC?

I am reaching out just to see if anyone around the area is on here and maybe would like to inform me of any meet ups or would like to grab coffee etc sometime.

If you live in a low cost area in the United States this can become easier to accomplish versus an expensive part of the US like CA or NYC where you're going to need a lot of cash flow to meet your goals.    

What I don’t understand is that not many people have the “I gotta do what I gotta do” lifestyle to make ends meet and possibly put some $ away for times like this.

As I recall, our term was 4 or 5 months.Hold a Quit Clam Deed in Escrow - Have the closing agent draft a QCD from you back to her with instructions to record it in the event you either go out of business or you can't meet the 5-month balloon term from suggestion #1 above.