The City of Montgomery is the Capital of Alabama with a robust economic environment that has produced multiple awards of excellence at the Chamber of Commerce level.

As stated, most lenders will require some level of capital and will want you to show collateral.   

Jersey City is hot right now but like I tell my clients the majority of the time I can find them deals that make more sense in Essex County but that depends on the client and what their needs are along with their comfort level. 

If there is "still contamination" at any level, I would be concerned about that and pass on the deal no matter what.

A mentor can accelerate your growth, no matter what level you're currently at.

Experience level of the team.

Little Rock and OKC are the capitals of each state so there's a ton of government jobs that provide a strong level of security because we all know those jobs aren't going anywhere.

Depending on your level or preference of analysis, data and their providers are incredibly important and difficult to obtain when it comes to real estate underwriting.

Long story short if you are committed to house hacking the sky is the limits and there is endless possibility, it really comes down to your comfort level and where exactly you need to be in New Jersey.

Over my time (over 30 years), if your lender will make a call to the seller/seller's rep to explain the level of due diligence we've done on the buyer usually goes a long way.