People have already provided great input, so I will touch on your comment your wife said.You really need to sit down with her and explain the short term and long term goals.

If you have savings and are working in NYC, a lot of people would consider maybe house hacking in an area like Bayonne or Jersey City, depending on what you can afford.

Depending on the area, seasons will help with this.

The lot with the house on it sells for $550-900k depending on location, house size, etc. 

Make them attend 3-5 12 step meetings a week and have them provide documentation similar to the courts.5.

What Bruce says about new homes is accurate.New communities CCRs needs to be reviewed so you are not stack in a property that can't be rented out.ROI will be very los what I see in new communities is 10yrs in average, it will all depend on the time in the market.Another thing with new communities in those growing cities is that they are not investors friendly for LTR as the rent price tends to be lower than in other market.However there are plenty of opportunities in North Dallas, many other cities with growing population are great to invest.

I guess the proxy might be what the person is paying now provided this isn't their first. 

It depends on the market, in my home area I can't justify single family rentals but MF's work... however I've invested in single families in markets where the MF's scared me. 

I found myself attending in-person networking almost weekly prior to the pandemic, but we live in a different world, and the digital shift has made it harder.Currently looking for personal investment deals in the area, and also passionate about connecting other local investors with trusted service providers.

The reality is the opposite - if it's not in writing then the PMC doesn't have to provide the service or can charge extra for it!