You may be able to find a private money individual who can move a little faster but there are a couple other parties outside of the lender that also cause delays.

Your $100,000 / $1000 goal is a good start, but you'll probably need a little more than $1000 in rent to make it a worthwhile rental property.

College should not be viewed as a barrier to achieving your goals, but should be a pathway to better achieve your goals. 

From listings, it seems  properties now in Union city/Weehawken are increasing faster than those in Jersey City areas. 

I've since realized that financial independence may be attainable through real estate investing and I'm currently learning as much as I can while putting together a strategy forward towards my goals.

Our goal is to substitute a little lost income at retirement by renting a few single family homes until we can switch to a larger complex with multiple units.

Short term or long term goals?

I finally found the vehicle that would take me closer to my goal of living my best life.I am extremely excited to learn more about real estate investing.

We're looking for a brokerage that has no sales goals/quotas (or 1 sale/yr to maintain active status), no or minimal monthly fees, flat fee, no expectations of meetings or working from an office, but enough of a presence to answer basic questions as needed.If you have any folks you'd like to recommend that meet all (or most) of the criteria above, please share.

It will vary based on your goals & your resources.