Advice neeeded for a newbie Investing in Northern New Jersey

[Donald Gardner]

I recently left my corporate job after 19 years.  I have a pension of $150K that I can move to a solo 401K which I can use to invest in real estate.  I recently started looking at property and can find pretty good deals with good returns on investment.  My concern is around the potential difficulties of being a landlord and the amount of time it takes to be a landlord.  Are the ROIs worth the challenges of being a landlord?  Is there a cap rate that I should target?  

Also, we were trying to determine our strategy on where to find the deals.  What are some tips on where to buy in Northern/Central New Jersey?  We are considering multi-family homes/apartments in low income/section 8 areas but we are also considering "good" neighborhoods with higher home values but are more desirable places to live and may have a better appreciation value in the long run.

I am a newbie and insight is appreciated.

Thank you,

Donald 

Donald