As an inexperienced investor, I plan to stay away from the more challenging neighborhoods in Newark and have so far focused on my immediate surrounding areas (Ironbound & Lower Broadway).

My hubby and I are self-employed and so conventional loans are a challenge for us.

Although another consideration is that FHA loans are assumable, and if we do enter into a rising interest rate environment, that could be a nice selling point.

The challenge with out of area is lack of local knowledge & difficulty managing from a far.

Sounds like you are well on your way and will be pulling the trigger soon, I think at this point you should have been able to conduct enough studies to determine the major challenges that exist as you define multi and single family.

So, if you like Finance and find it challenging and fun, do it.

Without giving them any type of written warning for these issues, you may have difficulty making them leave if they challenge it. 

I would love to hear feedback from those out there who have faced this challenge and found a solution.

Might be ok to buy SLIGHTLY above market but in this market environment I would be weary.I also agree that a 3% interest rate (Is this interest only) really low. 

There is a lot of B and C class buildings and most will require some rehabbing to get into rentable condition; however, once they are ready you can easily fill them with students.One of the challenges I've seen is the cost is high and can make it difficult to cash flow at the end of the day.