Rental opportunities in Elizabeth NJ?

[Melaines Gil]

Hi all,

 I have read here that places like Newark, Elizabeth and Linden are good cash flow opportunities in NJ. I'm a bit afraid of investing in Newark, but I'm willing to take the risk if it pays off. My sister-in-law just moved to Elizabeth near Linden, around Grier Avenue and Bayway Avenue. I visited the area and walked around the neighborhood. It is very nice, but I noticed that there are many houses in foreclosure, abandoned, and several vacant apartments.  Is this a good or bad sign to invest? 

Also, rent is very low in comparison to NYC. my sister-in-law is paying $1000 for a two bedroom with 2 parking lots and a backyard. We also knew about other 3 bedroom houses renting for $1200, and $1500, with backyard and parking lot. I really like the area and  it is relatively close to NYC. We spoke with several locals and knew of a few people who live in the neighborhood and commute to NYC every day. This is a very important factor to me because the neighborhood is close to public transportation. The locals also told us that the neighborhood is very quite, and peaceful. Does anybody have experience investing in this area? could this be a good area to start my investing career? 

Thank you advance.