From the lower hudson orange county area all the way to the capital region of Albany.

However, I can't make these numbers work even if I lower purchase price by 20-25%.Is it possible that property taxes can be so high in a particular area it's completely infeasible to turn a profit off a rental home?

Seems like the only way we can up our Cash on Cash is to calculate the purchase with a much lower down payment... but we want to sink our own cash into the deal. 

Returns are lower and fees can get you but it's an option.Another option would be to do a complete 1031 exchange into a fractional debt free TIC product. 

On the other side, as demand decreases, home values have to be dropped by the owner setting/accepting a lower offer. 

I originally grew up in the DC/Maryland/Virginia area, but for the past two years, I have been working as a software developer in lower Manhattan.I have basically zero background in real estate, but I hope to learn a lot from this community -- enough for my wife and me to invest in one or more rental properties within the next two-to-three years that will give us a nicer return beyond our retirement mutual funds. 

It is the credit reporting agencies that can lower your credit score by applying too  many times.

@Amit Yadav, out of state investing for rentals will provide you a higher upside just due to lower cost of entry, but it is definitely best for those with some experience.

If the loan is a lower LTV and more standard terms then lenders can get more lax in requirements as their is security in other ways such as high DSCR, low leverage where loan is much less than current value of the property etc.

Maybe if the rent would be on the lower side for the area anyway, but it just sounds problematic.