One thing you might want to consider is partnering with microsoft and adding a third party app to their office 365 suite of products as they have an accounting arm and many other applications already in play that you could add on just for property management and it would work on their system to integrate everything.

I am not an attorney and I don't play one on television.

If you trust your contractor and can stay on top of the project, you might not need a property manager my understanding is the property manager is playing the contractor's role for some smaller projects, not another layer on top of the contractor. 

I played professional baseball for 4 years and don't have any experience in the real estate world.

Are others playing the long game and hoping for appreciation or is there something I’m missing with the economics of North Jersey?

His criminal record shouldn't play a role if he was released from prison five years ago and has held a steady job, has good landlord references, etc.Disorderly conduct looks pretty minor, and I don't see how it poses a risk to you.

What lists are you targeting plays a large roll also.  

Do you think the high property taxes play a significant role in shaping your investment strategy moving forward?

If you want to attempt to rep yourself, you have to play the game too.

We have bought only a handful of 2nds but to me, the 2nds game is a volume play.