I think some of the responses here are not taking into account the 3 day attorney review mandated by the state of New Jersey, where the property is located. 

Any advice, experiences, or thoughts would be helpful before we finally pick a location. 

I am currently located in the Sanford/Lake Mary area and I am looking to invest around North-East Orlando (Possibly Lake Mary, Casselberry, Winter Park, Oviedo) but that is up in the air as I am still researching the area.

I have someone located with outstanding reviews on Yelp here in New York.

How did you determine which location was the best place and has the biggest ROI for your first investment property? 

@ Gary F, I actually just left Santa Rosa, California a few months ago... and 'updated' my BP location, more recently.

Located in the middle of California, 3 hours north of LA and 3 hours south of San Francisco.

On the other hand, another expert thinks it would be cost prohibitive to find and keep good tenants, even if I fixed it up completely to current standards for the area based on the location. 

That being said, I have never heard if that would be beneficial from an attorneys viewpoint.  3) Depending on your property location (Not Philly or Pittsburgh), you shouldnt need any other licenses. 

They knew the location of the home, the title company contact information and names, amounts of purchase...everything.