Given your situation and the answers to questions like these, maybe it makes sense to buy a 3/2 in a nice neighborhood with a yard and get a couple of roommates.

I rushed over and was able to salvage items out of the attached garage.

You could keep your yard green and it cost you $0.00 

Many of my classmates have worked on the Hudson Yard project by Related in some capacity as consultants while in school (as part of a mandatory capstone project) or in a full-time or internship role.

Their are 2 things I don't like about the house..first the garage is in the back and about 30 yards from the house.

For this, I just mean that if your comps are 1/2 acre lots sitting on side streets with flat back yards, you want to ensure that your house isn't a 1/4 acre lot sitting on a main street with a sloped back yard. 

From the outside, it appears to have been kept up; someone has at least been taking care of the yard. 

Washer & Dryer stay, Nice fully fenced rear yard.

We walked outside on the deck to check out the yard and the neighbor's 4 dogs were outside.

I used to think that $1525 rent - $1207 PITI - $60 yard maintenance = $283 cash flow, but after browsing this site I see that I have left out vacancy and maintenance (will self-manage).