Ideally a live in flip that you can house hack, something  that you can drive up in equity and then rent out per room to make some cash flow. 

if you have 239k in equity and sell the NJ home, you could use that money to buy a few homes near you and increase your monthly rental income.

monthly cash flow and increase in equity How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

I am considering selling because currently I have about 125k in equity, and at my age, that capital would be amazing to have and I could use it to buy more properties that align more with my goals (ie not spending as much time managing).

And you will receive a property with built in equity.

We would have so much more  wealth in equity if we had.  

I am a huge fan of creating equity by buying distressed properties and fixing them up to build in equity from the start. 

So if you have $245k in equity and your return is $32k per year that's a 13% Return On Equity.

Given this constraint, I believe that bringing in a local partner with shared interests in equity from now on, profits, and losses could be a mutually beneficial arrangement.

You made $373k in equity gains in one year without much work.