I was able to write the mayor and council members and attend a meeting to show how I was committed to improving the town and why they should release it to me.

I paid $250K plus 30K capital improvement so 280K tax basis.

Please let me know if you have any suggestions on how to improve the tool. 

Take a good look at factors like vacancy rates, operating expenses, debt service and any pre-rental improvements and repairs.

Hey Will,As a PM in the area:-have a lawyer look over your lease-make sure EVERYTHING is in your lease (who replaces air filters, who replaces smoke detectors batteries, who cuts grass)-be thorough with background inspections-make sure tenant is aware (and is in lease) on when fines occur for late rent and how much they areThose are things that first come to mind.In can be expensive and time consuming to set it all up the first time and do it in a way that protects yourself and your investment.Let me know if I can help in any way!

For example, if you’ve budgeted $750,000 for capital expenditures, which might include renovating units, improving landscaping and new paint, etc., you can reallocate some of that money and use it for your escrow requirement.

However, once you do that, and your credit score improves, you can then refi back to Conventional/jumbo loans.So it's an annoying 2-step process, which incurs more cost, but just bite the bullet and do it. 

Yes, employment rates are improving and things appear to be normalizing but the eviction moratorium is still in effect and the fed has said rates will remain low for at least a year (why?

If you’re a trust fund kid with access to ample cash, you probably don’t need to read up on hard money loans and private lending (unless you want to employ leverage, in which case I congratulate you on being wise beyond your years).My point is that any discussion of which books you should read should be tailored to you and the areas you want to improve.

I understand that NJ is a tough market and its an improvement from renting a room and building no equity.