A couple years ago, on a cost per ft basis, existing home sales started exceeding the cost to build new so that drives things. 

The tradesmen charge a minimum regardless of sqft of the house which drives up our cost. 

But for sure have an agent that is local do a drive by snap some pictures and give you a price assessment to see where your at. 

I may have to drive for dollars and scout out my own deal, but the problem with that is all of the stipulations that come with the STR restrictions.

You get lower taxes in PA, there is appreciation in that market, and you can drive there if you need to.

Our rental market is extremely tight with little availability which is driving rents higher.

What's driving you to want to invest in real estate?

I would throw caution at giving credibility to news stories about rates driving people out of Florida or increased natural disasters impacting rates.

I found out about the state of the lawn through a friend that did me the favor to drive to the property to check it out.

I'm looking into potentially house hacking a small multi-family home, preferably in northern NJ (such as Morris county) or Westchester, NY if possible, but I'm open to other areas that are hopefully within about 1.5 hours (driving or public transit) of Manhattan.