Both are lucrative, New York will be a tougher entry point. 

The agent has access to every home listed on the MLS unless there are specific realtor notes barring entry until a contract is accepted.You haven't mentioned what you have set as criteria so I cannot assume the agent is doing this on his/her own volition.

At least for your "entry level" $50K-$60K in this area that will not appreciate much at all over 3-4 years (at least from what I've seen).The tenants we get in my little $50K a bit "higher risk" than what I believe I could rent to in my current home, PLUS like I said: This home will appreciate.In this market it just does not make sense to me to try to sell, but my fiance and I realy want out of the city.Again, thanks for your input.

The entry profit margins can be too tight for comfort so tread very carefully 

I am currently residing in Canada and have always wanted to invest Real Estate in the US, but never actually found an entry point to this market due to limited knowledge and understand of the business. 

Aloha,If he is named on the Rental Agreement, he has a right to entry.

I volunteer at his events and have two rules for entry: COSCO - you have to have enough money that returns will make the entry feel trivial.  

If the loft is open to a lower area and these are the only bedrooms, the most effective strategy may be to enclose the loft with a privacy barrier to the lower area or have a seperate entry to the other bedroom coming from the other side.

Engineering offers good entry-level opportunities out of college but in the long term is a lousy career path (many of the successful investors I've met quit their day job after about 15 years working in the corporate world).Has anyone else noticed the trend or have ideas why?

The entry point is extremely affordable and the rents vs. all in cost are dynamic!