It actually even seems like a waste of time calling people who opted on to this list. 

It seems that versions of the senate and house bills prohibit local governments from limiting STR durations unless the local law was passed prior to 2011.

In hindsight it seems clear that you should not have paid 75% upfront.Based on your description of where you are right now, I think that you should take the following into account as you go forward.A “good” attorney will most certainly cost good money.

It seems that researching for properties doesn't count.

I This new construction community also has seemingly steep HOA fees of around $350 per month all-in.

I came across this article and it seems like there is a push for this and to make basement/cellar apartments legal but still hasn't happened.

Seems like they are running a Pawn Shop, homeowners in Austin/Miami/Tampa etc who need cash bad sell a "HomeShare", percentage of their equity in their home for a discount, with a term of 10 yrs, if the homes go up in value as they have since 2011/2012 then NADA gets the original equity already at a premium price plus any appreciation for the total percentage they bought from the homeowner, but since Austin now down 20% in last 12 months and other hot home markets may also continue to fall, and NADA does not engage in price discovery (ie shopping for best value) as they want to obtain a "Market Value - ETF like" of the cities they invest in.

I don't want to buy existing the number don't seem good to cash flow. 

Ive never hired legal help, would it better to find local or can I look in other parts of nj also since it seems most everything can be done online?

It seemed like the smart thing to do since it is in an up and coming area.