If you dont have any construction experience or a NJ home improvement contractors license you are asking for trouble. 

Success can be delayed if we get another 2009 style crash, but ultimately if your finances are solid and you can weather the storm, any house that fits those criteria will make you money.The people who get in trouble are speculators who overextend themselves based on assuming wildly inaccurate projects of the future will come true (ex.

Manny explained it well.In other words, if your building (say it produces $19,000 in NOI) and it's in a "D" area (say cap rate of 10%) and if you find a similar building in an "A" area (with a cap rate of 5%) that produces the same income ($19,000), investors are more than willing to pay DOUBLE the price to get that $19,000 income for a building in an "A" area vs. the same income for a building in an "D" area. 

I also see a space where I can select that this is an income-producing property.

I also see a space where I can select that this is an income-producing property.

If you apply the cash flow to pay off your mortgage you not only are accomplishing your goal of living in a clear and free home, at the same time you are paying off an income-producing property its a win-win.

If your not comfortable doing so or see some troubling things I would think twice about investing there.Regarding recently remodeled properties a lot flippers in the area do pretty shotty jobs on these lower income places. 

What troubles me is that he did not seem to put any weight on the fact that we live in the home with this woman. 

Other than that, you may run into financing issues-while there are lenders that will underwrite loans on floating homes, they're not your 3% down FHA loans so many people run into trouble there. 

If you find a fixer upper that is going to be too much trouble with conventional financing or a seller really motivated by cash offer that would be the tool to reach for, otherwise use your other tool in your belt but making sure to keep whatever tool you end up using updated in your analysis and pro-forma.