There is so much information and noise out there, might be helpful to just find a local community to get your feet wet. 

We are a family of 4 (45/40/6/9) in Bergen County, NJ and interested in buying a beach front condo in Wildwood Crest, NJ.

A few years earlier in 2012 I had filed for bankruptcy and was just now eligible to buy a house.

I am retired and collecting a pension and access to 401k funds (1099-R income)...so I am wondering how all of the information I am hearing about tax benefits as it pertains to W2 incoming applies to my 1099-R income. 

They suddenly lost my insurance information and now said couldn't collect my monthly mortgage. 

Many people buy in larger cities like this because the paper cash flow looks sweet, but the reality of it, across the board right now - good cash flow equals lower neighborhood class, more variable tenancies, and tons of hidden capital expenditures.

I'm leaning toward buying a single or double family home with the intent of renting to others - not sure about short or long - i guess it depends on the deal and how it goes? 

I have 3 ( 1 condo +2 townhome) rental and one primary home (single family ) all in San Diego and for my rental portfolio of buying with my own money i am done.

@Charles Burgess To be honest with you, the chances of you buying a lot and building on it for less than the cost of buying an existing property are pretty low.

The cash flow is great, but I am looking for a lending source---private or a financial institution---to buy many more like these---they need to be in small cities though.Property management is not a problem, since they own the house and will fix it up themselves.