Things like leaking pipe under sink, downspout that needs securing, sewer vent pipe out to the attic, missing smoke detectors in a unit, loose material, etc. are all very easy fixes that we would be happy to make for you. 

I secured a 5.75 percent rate on a new build recently.

Reasons to sell the seller on the Owner financing might be, because you are going to do a substantial rehab to the property, or that the property doesn't have any buyers, and this is a way to sell the property.Seller Financing works a lot better when there is not a realtor to pay, where a realtor's commission could be 6%, which on a $300,000 Purchase would be $18,000.An additional option you might consider if you are looking at purchasing this property to do a flip, or fix and rent, is you could propose seeing if the seller would partner with you, and you would secure a Private Loan for 50% of the sales price, plus the rehab, and if there is enough upside equity, you would probably be able to do a cash out refinance and pay off the seller that way.

There are some key limitations that are important:Passive losses can only offset passive income.Up to $25,000 in passive rental losses may be deducted against non-passive income if the investor actively participates and their modified adjusted gross income is below $100,000.Unused passive losses are carried forward to future tax years.Here’s an IRS article that further discusses the rules: https://www.irs.gov/publications/p9251031 ExchangesThis strategy allows investors to defer capital gains tax when they sell a property if they invest the sale proceeds into a “like-kind” property.

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.

Attorneys can help (once hired) with securities offerings and marketing compliance.  

In our area, obtaining zoning is also a big pain requiring zoning board public meetings.

Just because someone does not have a social security number does not mean they are undocumented.

(Other financing arrangements might be possible.)You can only obtain one home equity loan per year, even if you have fully paid off the prior home equity loan.Regulation of LendersTexas restricts who may lawfully issue a home equity loan.An unlicensed person is not permitted to make a home equity loan unless that individual is either related with the borrower to the second degree, or is the seller and is providing financing for the property.A home equity loan must be secured only by the home itself, and the lender may not attach the loan to any additional assets as collateral.

We actually spun out our PM work to be public facing and we're able to provide repairs to other owners at a much better price and with a much faster turn around than most other companies that are looking more a SFR remodels.