I can say from experience that very very few tenants truly take care of their dogs well and you will likely have some damage or adverse affect to deal with from it.

@Miguel Bautista asking where's the best place to invest in NJ is always subject to many different things: Capital on hand, how much your lenders are willing to lend, how risk adverse you are, etc.   

A larger down payment will mean lower mortgage payments and better cash flow, but adversely affect your Cash on Cash Return.

Just like you said, the further out you can extend the home, the better you can protect yourself from any adverse market conditions. 

If you are risk adverse real estate, (especially out of state) is not for you.

Have a sit down with your financial adviser before you start throwing cash at real estate if you are adverse to leverage.

You will be preaching to the converted here on BP.You will also have more luck with vendor carries on commercial properties.Most residential vendors do not understand how a vendor carry work and are too risk adverse to explore or they want/need all of their money now. 

If you are risk adverse real estate, (especially out of state) is not for you.

A roof with issues will adversely affect your structure all the way to the foundation, slowly over time, and often unnoticed until it becomes VERY apparent.

This is why, as Landlords/Property Managers we must provide an Adverse Action letter that provides the information on which service we obtained info from, to enable the Consumer to contact them and dispute/correct it.For Court cases such as evictions, if your State allows, you should be able to check directly either online or at the Courthouse Help Desk.