Which areas of NJ are you referring to? 

Do you check Landlord references?

"Big" government refers to powers, not level.

@Kyle Mccaw Okay yes are you referring to FHA loan?

I had little choice since I was financing out of a construction loan that had little time before a ballon.

Consult with competent legal counsel to guide you regardless of your choice here.

He has a knack for making bad choices. 

If not, ride out the 12 months with the hard money lender.People have to make good choices and not over extend themselves just for the sake of buying something they really can't afford or that doesn't make good cash flow.

There's a reason why people refer to the founders of PayPal as the PayPal Mafia. 

Originally posted by @Brian Eastman:@Roman Stefaniw@Chad Urbshott recommending Olympia Trust and the like is what I thought I was referring - which is self-directed plan itself.