I have a solid deal with a private investor supplying the cash for down payment.The cashflow is around 8.5% Cash on cash.How much money should I be giving him for his 100,000 promissary note / investment ?

You say you'd fund it with a "regular home mortgage" but later mention a hard money lender so which is it?

You are a licensed professional in many peoples eyes now, not just a regular Joe.

I am open for regular or section 8 renters.

After the rehab, everything just look like a regular stick-built home.

If the heater doesn't detect water flow, it stops heating, so you can't really cycle the pump on and off like a regular pool.Yes it is worth the trouble, expense and maintenance.  

Plan on using Farm Credit for line of credit @ 3% rather than a regular bank@ 4.75%.

My primary focus in terms of locations is the Central Texas area (Killeen, Copperas Cove, Harker Heights, Belton and Temple Tx)- however I'm also interested in McAllen Tx and GRV .I hope to learn from other members, share my journey (and lessons learnt) and  provide constructive contribution to this group.I'm certainly looking forward to connecting with other members who are out of state investors like me and have investments in the mentioned areas.Also - are there any NJ REI that meet up on a regular basis ? 

If you don't have an existing network that supplies you with new deals, you can go to any of the crowdfunding sites such as Crowd Street, Real Crowd etc. and/or you can join an investor club.If you're conservative, then it takes a lot more work to locate the few that you might find suitable.

Marketwise, you want to look at not only growth, but also supply constraint.