@Ashley Guerra - I live and invest outside of Philadelphia, so I can't comment on your specific markets in central and south Jersey, but can provide my perspective on things to think about to help your decision.1) I would consider speaking to 3-5 people/investors in each market you are considering (central and south Jersey) to listen to their thoughts on pros/cons of the area and how they invest.

@Davin PaulineI recommend finding an accountant/financial planner who specializes in real estate taxation, tax planning and financial planning.You may want to consider working with your accountant remotely to expand your options.I would also recommend looking for a accountant willing to work with you throughout the year.

Scan the local papers and try to find any vocal neighbors trying to ban STRs.

Is it any harder now to find a deal or is it the same as always, just a different group that learned that real estate actually does require work?

I’ve been interested in buying first property and need to learn and connect with people here, Hopefully I can connect with some of you guys in here to find out more information about how to find off market deals.

You can probably find most of the books online like Amazon or someplace local like 1/2 priced books. 

Based on the number that you provided you would have to sell around the $320k mark to breakeven.

However, $1K is much higher than what we pay.We do not allow partial payments and I find it curious that your PM accepted that.  

If you can't find what you're looking for, try the Bigger Pockets Fileplace.

Ask discovery questions, genuinely care about the answers, and seek to find a solution that falls in line with what is important to the owner.Aim to first establish trust with the owner.