@Celine Li Recommend you first figure out the property Class you want to invest in, THEN figure out the corresponding location to invest in.Property Class will typically dictate the Class of tenant you get, which greatly IMPACTS rental income stability and property maintenance/damage by tenants.If you apply Class A assumptions to a Class B or C purchase, your expectations won’t be met and it may be a financial disaster.If you buy/renovate a property in Class D area to Class A standards, what quality of tenant will you get?

@Joy McQuearyRecommend you first figure out the property Class you want to invest in, THEN figure out the corresponding location to invest in.Property Class will typically dictate the Class of tenant you get, which greatly IMPACTS rental income stability and property maintenance/damage by tenants.If you apply Class A assumptions to a Class B or C purchase, your expectations won’t be met and it may be a financial disaster.If you buy/renovate a property in Class D area to Class A standards, what quality of tenant will you get?

Good luck and let us know what you figure out!

I guess I need to figure out a professional way on how to market to them.

Their first attempt would be rough, but good enough to start with.

How much, roughly, is enough to begin in this NJ market?

My suggestion is to build a spreadsheet and include the net cash flow to you for every month of the deal, then use the IRR function to figure out your return. 

Given that I recently created a Series LLC here in TX, and there still doesn't appear to be straightforward options in this regard, I figured I would bring it up again. 

The question behind the question is that I'm trying to figure out how to communicate with property owners that have under-utilized assets.

Sounds like an unreasonable seller and the most likely reason for them not wanting an offer with a financing contingency is the property is in too rough shape to get financing on it (structural damage, fire damage, etc.) or won’t appraise anywhere near asking price.