If you don't care about income and are more of a capital gain kind of guy, prices are already high (as you noticed) and there's plenty of land available to buy so I'm not sure how much is left in the tank.

From a personal standpoint I target 70% LTV for any investment I have that way gives me ability to sell it if I need tooI'm Canadian so it a T4 up here and yes I'm I high earner who can handle vacancies if need be. 

On the flip side, if you've got a bunch of Section 8 tenants living in a building that's in a neighborhood where a lot of the tenant base has good jobs, high credit scores, and are generally reliable people, you've got the most risky tenants in that tenant base and that ain't what ya want.

This is a self directed RRSP or TFSA account that allows you to lend your money out to people with the backing of their mortgage for a high interest rate. 1st, 2nd, 3rd mortgages, down payments, refinances, flipping or renovation money.

I think because it's so competitive to survive in California, and being accustomed to high prices, they view the rest of the country as opportunity. 

During this time, I found myself unemployed and having difficulty finding a new job due to not completing my degree or having formal training beyond high school or military.

Highly reccomend joining local investor Facebook groups.

NJ does not have a high eviction rate.Greenville doesn't have easy transportation to NYC like you find in other areas of Jersey City so it is not a highly sought after area.  

I won't just write them all here but I highly recommend contacting a qualified 1031 intermediary to walk you through the process.

Most of my CFO clients that are in residential development are looking for IRRs (usually over a minimum 5-year period) in the high teens and the commercial developers are looking in the low to mid 20% range.