If you need help, I would attend SJREIA or whatever equivalent there is in central Jersey as well.2) I would suggest buying a property (SFH or MH) in a location you can get you within 30 minutes, especially for your first deal.

I suggest commercial loans with local banks. 

You would need to give us a monthly expense requirement for the asset allocation to be suggested.

The issue I personally see is that we (Realtors) meet with sellers, show the data, and sellers tell us "Yeah, but the market is hot, so we want to maximize our profit, let's go $50-75K over your suggested price and see what happens.

Simple.

Our current agent is the only agent who has suggested that we try to sell them separately since selling them together didn't appear to work.On the other hand, maybe prospective buyers are waiting to see how much lending rates decline in the next few months and what happens with the Costa-Hawkins proposition on CA ballots this November.  

I would love to pitch this to sellers in my area but want to keep it as simple as possible.

Financing Options for Next Property Purchase10% Down Payment Product: Since your lender has now suggested a 10% down payment product instead of the previously mentioned 5%, consider this option seriously.

If you're looking for cash flow, I personally suggest checking Columbus because you can definitely find cash flowing deals here that meet the 1% rule and at affordable prices starting at $120k to $180k.

THANKS IN ADVANCE for any suggestions!