How can I find ugly houses - wholesale/condemned... in NYC or the immediate area?

I am new to real estate investment and I am trying to get started. How can I find these really bad houses to buy and re-sell for profit. Has anyone had success doing so in NYC? I would really appreciate some advice... I just dont know where to start!!

10 million people in NYC. At least 10,000 of them have the Carlton Sheets tapes and are pursuing the same homes as you would be..

Even the most undesirable areas in NYC are going to be prime targets for flip transactions. NYC is an expensive real estate market to cut your teeth.

Your best bet are smaller college towns where the real estate market is more affordable and there are a lot of tenants who can rent if the market tanks before you can sell for a profit.

Most investors who live in large cities prefer to invest in these smaller towns. However, they do not have the stomach to deal with tenants. They want turn-key investment properties (in other words, they do not want to invest a lot of time or money to fix up bad homes) and great management companies. If you are willing to do the dirty work to renovate the properties, it may be worth $5K to $10K beyond the cost of the repairs. If the home is $500,000 this premium is only 1 or 2 % of the price to an investor who doesn't want to get dirty. If the home is $100,000 this is 5 to 10% of the price, which is a nice return.

My advice: find a nice college town with a pretty vibrant real estate market. Buy an older home, modernize, renovate, fill up with paying tenants, and sell for 25% to 50% more than you paid. Net after repair costs should be 10 to 20%.

Stay away from NYC unless you have a lot of $$$ to lose!