My question is should I stick to a SFH in my local market in a good area or South Jersey? 

Unless you're passionate about real estate and have lots of extra time to learn and become an expert at it in addition to your day job as a doctor, I'd honestly just stick with something more "set and forget" like mutual funds. 

Stick to Local Property Locations: you should start out by only lending in areas you already have a good understanding of.

Create a standard...including on the design side of things...and stick to it.

To think somebody could pick up a course, take action, stick with it, and create legacy wealth in a relatively small span of time compared to most other opportunities.. pretty amazing deal!

They get a tax certificate and ONE of the "sticks" in the "bundle of rights" that belongs to the owner.

My cousin works for a mortgage company called Red Stick Financial in Baton Rouge. 

Hi Kevin,I'm a big fan of buying with cash and my thought process is quite contrary to everyone else's.Cash is KingCashflow is QueenLeverage can be a peasant lolOne can retire investing in Toledo with $1m in cash.Off-course, this all depends on how many villages you need to feed 🤓I have too many "villagers" on my back so it's a bit of a different story for me.Sub $100,000 markets like Toledo require volume to work and to be worth the risk if you are looking to buy and hold.Not much growth potential long term so I would consider it a strict cashflow play.Start slow and small and you can always scale up once you learn the market.Or call it quits and exit if you decide it's not for you.IMO, leverage should only be used to scale a portfolio and only after you have immersed yourself enough in a specific market.And only once you have decided that you want to stick around in that specific market and invest in it long term.Over the years, I've witnessed many folks use leverage and attempt BRRRR out of state only to fall short and say "the market sucks and it doesn't work".Nothing works unless you make it work and a market like Toledo can work better than any other market I know from a cashflow perspective.I've been investing since 2014 and flipped hundreds along with currently managing 400 SFH.Only this year have I started buying small multifamily properties.It's an adjustment and a different animal but let's just say it's in the same breed of animal lolImmerse yourself in a specific market and become an "expert" on the numbers in that market.Find off market deals, negotiate hard, buy with cash and buy quickly.You make money when you buy and not when you sell so you must buy cheap.There are many ways to skin a cat mate and this is how I get my fur lolWishing you much success

I just feel that the spots that are sanded will stick out like a sore thumb, which is why I landed on thought of a sanding all of it down with 100 grit.

Stick with your theory.