My wife and I own property in Lakewood and have had good luck finding well-qualified tenants. 2) Websites like Zillow and even Craigslist can be good sources for finding tenants, but if you choose to self-manage, you'll need to ensure you have a good system for screening tenants and following fairhousing. 

I have had mystery water where the bigger problem is figuring out what is the source of the water lol. 

If so, the hit up every single local bank because they will be happy to help (as long as you have good credit history and if you are just starting out then they are stoked to see a separate steady source of income and not all reliant on the new investments).

I can't speak with experience to any of the markets you've suggested, but finding quality value-add deals in Union City, and anywhere in Hudson County, at this point, is going to be quite a challenge, unless you're sourcing deals yourself or have some other form of deal flow.

Agree with Don and Marcus - I’ve made a living off pricing competitively.It either leads to #1)bidding wars2) lower cost basis#3) increase in money velocity Think of this you price high wait 3-6 months for a deal, end up negotiating down and lowering price increase risk of market changing take another 30-60 days for deal to close another 60 to source and close another orrrrPrice aggressive create demand, bidding wars, buyers into a pipeline make a little less money house sells in 7 days close in 30-60 days another 60 to source and close......Instead of 1 deal with that capital per year you can now do 2-3Increased Money velocity IMO leads to increased annual ROI

Not all sq ft in a house costs the same.Go to your local building supplier, go up and down the isles, and get actual prices for material for kitchens, cabinets and countertops, floors, paint, basic lumber and trims, plumbing fixtures, electrical fixtures. etc...You usually can get estimates on labor from that same source. 

As an agent, wholesalers can be a great source of properties for clients or for yourself. 

I would function as the manager of the fund and would source the deals, project manage the rehab, and manage the rentals.

Stick to your process and verify all sources.

That way she could show monthly payments from those sources.