Driving for Dollars NJ? Finding distressed homes

[Jonathan Blandino]

Hey guys so I've been on the semi warpath since coming back to Jersey. I will say every time I'm thankful for any comments that have come so far. 

I've gone threw about 6 BP podcast with wholesellers explaining their journey and though I'm in the process of moving into my new apartment in Bloomfield, NJ I needed to do something each day to learn. I'm driving around the Newark/Bloomfield area looking for potential distressed homes to research into and contact the homeowners who seem to not live on the property. Not really scared of calling people (being an auto insurance adjuster both handling liability and total loss so comfortable having people send me to hell over the phone lol). 

Now just wanted to get some advice on identifying a distressed home? Northern NJ properties don't always look so great and are all often not spaced apart much or don't have yards. Maybe I could never tell the difference bc I was never looking for distressed homes but any advice in more urban area would be great. 

I was also wondering if wholesaling is more profitable in urban or suburban areas. Does that have any effect on cities pressuring landlords for unmaintained properties?