It's a very complex and nuanced area to invest in because for the most part part NYC is VERY tenant friendly, and that makes things difficult if you ever run into problems with a "professional" tenant. 

My advice, search online for all nearby apartment complexes, and filter out the ones that look distressed.

Sorry for any of the typos this is from the speech to text feature on my phone.

True, the market you buy into may be different (which has its own challenges if far away) and may not be quite as hot as the one you sold in, and you may still be able to find a great deal, but it will still be hot and very difficult to do without paying retail, which is always a big no no for me personally.I'm not saying there aren't cases where this could make sense, but I don't see this as one of them as she could just as easily sell now or two years from now and still do it tax free under the primary residence exclusion and she could still roll the proceeds into another investment property or anything else she chooses for that matter without messing around with all the complex moving parts and restrictions of the 1031. 

My team and I actively invest in out of state apartment complexes. 

My ideal scenario would be to own a small investment company with a partner that holds a few mid-sized rental properties for baseline income, and supplements this with a few high-profit flips every year to help grow the rental portfolio and pay for lifestyle upgrades, vacations, etc.My formal education is an Electrical Design engineer, and for the past 10 years I've worked for large companies designing complex electronic (computer) circuits for things like Medical Devices, LED lighting, etc.

Look up the crime report around the complex you are looking at.

One other good reason to get into small apartment complexes is the quantity of competition is lower and more in your favor.  

He has a former roommate who currently lives in the Twin Cities and he's heard me discuss ideas like purchasing either a SFM with 3 to 4 bedrooms and renting rooms out or a duplex and live in one side and rent the other.My son doesn't have an offered job at this point but there are many likely positions that he could get..and for the last year he's been one of the maintenance guys for a large apartment business that has 3 large apartment complexes around ISU, so he thinks he could at least get a job as a maintenance person somewhere to make ends meet until he lands the full time job.  

Like a 200 unit complex?