I'll leave with one question that is currently one of my obstacles in taking the next step: How do I convince my wife, who is very risk averse, that going down the real estate investing path is a smart move with our money?

If you're really asking if there's anything inherently wrong with it, the answer is no IMO (as long as they don't have a bad rep & have the best deal). 

This could be in an area suffering from post-industrial decline, where there are few jobs left and the population has dropped by half in the past few decades, leaving the remaining residents to deal with urban blight and pollution that is inherent in the tail end of a boom/bust industrial cycle.

It is way too expensive to buy anything worth living in here (at least for us, right now), but just outside the city in places like New Rochelle and Yonkers, we could possibly find a somewhat affordable multi family to house hack in.

My goals are to build equity for kids college, retirement and potentially a vacation home somewhere.It'd be great to attend local events in her NYC and hear from investors here. where are you guys investing in?

So far here is my progress, having started less than a week ago:- Initiate a search with Brad - He is a licensed agent as well as an investor- Visit a couple distressed properties in southern Columbus- Call several hard money lenders - set up meetings accordingly- Call a few inspectors - I have one ready to visit a property once I close- Call GCs - I have one GC who seems to be a good fit although I expect the renovation to be very challenging- Made a deal analysis excel sheet for calculating my offers (I prefer making my own)- I added a "Factor of Safety" for my renovation time and cost- With time and experience, I'll hopefully be able to adjust these- Accepted the fact that this is going to be very difficult with many obstacles to overcomeThroughout this process, any advice, critiques, etc. would be very much appreciated.

And in the event they laugh in her face, she hasn't wasted all of the time filling out paperwork forms.

She then wrote that she's already left town and there's a money order in her unit.

A lot depends on your financial position and how much you have to lose in a potential lawsuit, the risk inherent in the deal, and how you sleep at night.

She is in her 30's in age  with 3 kids and a single mom.