So your tenant pool is extremely important if not the most important thing to look at when investing in NJ.

Quote from @Jon Taylor: @Pete Harper - Section 721 of the Internal Revenue Code allows an investor to exchange property held for investment or business purposes for shares in a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) without triggering a taxable event.

Go to Etsy and search for "rental property tracker," and you will find hundreds of nice spreadsheets to track 10-20 rentals, usually for under $10.Software has extremely helpful features like online payments, marketing syndication (click a button, and your property is advertised on multiple sites), electronic document review/signing, maintenance tracking, and owner reports.

Thank you, that is extremely helpful. 

This allows you to invest in real estate without triggering the 10% early withdrawal penalty or income taxes, and the gains can grow tax-deferred (or tax-free in a Roth IRA).

The main reason I'm asking this, is to understand how much cash I need to save up in reserves before pulling the trigger on a deal like this?

They are just way too slow, unprofessional, and completely incompetent, and it is extremely hard to deal with them.

It's extremely frustrating but perhaps/hopefully it has made me a better investor? 

Right now there are definitely more units available than average, but they aren't staying on the market for extremely long.

I've considered putting solar panels on my investment properties, however, I have not pulled the trigger yet.