I'm in the lower westchester area(Ossining) and am really struggling to find a solid  Contractor with reasonable prices.

If you're solid on the wholesaling front, then either flipping or buy and hold would be logical extensions for you, and plenty of forums about both. 

(kinda like chatting on BP) Second, my wife an I have been fortunate to find some good deals over the last 10 years and some ok ones, and (knock on wood) we haven't lost money on one yet.

@Brian Gibbons...solid advice.

No, mostly safety-exposed electrical, trip hazards, properly functioning electrical/plumbing, etc. and wood rot, peeling paint(sometimes) functioning kitchen appliances (only if they are present-not required), etc.

NYC is great because it is so solid and of course the appreciation, regardless of what is going on.

"This house is solid." ^ "The water is shut off I'm not sure why this 5 gallon bucket is over flowing" "Oh...

SA is a lot more diverse than folks give it credit for and the diversity is in pretty solid core industries that I think are pretty safe.  

You have to have a solid working knowledge of the market that you are looking at: neighborhoods, sale prices, housing strata, employment marketplace, etc.

The building is solid with no work needing to be done.