My concern with that is making sure that my fiancee and I get pre approved for a price range that is feasible in NY.

In what price range are you looking?

This doesn't seem right because I watch Brandon Turners real estate videos and the COC roi should usually be in the 8% - 12% range, but 12% is where you should be aiming for.

Low DTI = good, High DTI = Bad.Also, you CAN get a 2-4 family house with homebuyer's programs because that unit range is considered "residential." 

With a house in that age range, there shouldn’t be too many pressing issues that need fixed ASAP.

@Alex Kovalenko you are correct, however I would recommend looking at homes in a lower price range as rentals.

Broadly, I’d say it ranges from 35-50% for properties in the western United States. 35% being a 2000 or newer, garden-style property with rent greater than $1,300/~$1.25sqft. 50% being older properties with small units and rents less than $1,000/~$1.25sqft.

For awhile Philadelphia was the best kept secret for a lot of NY investors but as of the last few years there has been a ton of NY money being dumped into philly, especially now because of the Rent control laws that passed here, but there are still deals out there. snap shot of philly - Steady population growth yr over yr - Steady job growth yr over yr - Diverse economy  ( top 3 health care, education & tourism )- Location...  2hrs from NYC "financial hub of the country" &  2(1/2) from Washington DC " the political of hub of the country.

the property value is probably not going to go up but it seems it would always be rentable for at least $700 a month ($900 more likely) ORoption 2. get ANOTHER mortgage with a hard money loan and get a property that would increase in value over time. both methods will require rehab. both we want to buy and hold and rent out.I currently have 3 rental properties in the $150,000 - $250,000 range that all have been increasing in value and should continue to do so.option 1 would give us more diversified investment AND diversified experience. it seems like it would offer better cash flow but is also riskier 

The CoC return (based on $80-100k range for booking revenue) is projected to be between 28-46%.