My general perception is that "southern" Union City (e.g. south of, say, 15th St), and further west (closer to North Bergen) is less desirable, although the border between Jersey City and Union City is nice, and east towards Manhattan (on, say, Palisades Ave) is very desirable.

They need to be the same size (or within 10% of the subject house), within about a mile (no more), and sold within the last 90 days.

@Patrick Hill I live in Dallas, TX, like 5-10 miles from downtown in a very nice residential area!

@Lisa Lusby - I would look south towards San Antonio or possibly north to Temple/Killeen/Waco if you are doing rentals.

I've been looking in the north.

If a vacation/2nd home isn't your primary residence and you won't be visiting regularly since it has to be at least 40 miles away from your primary residence and it's preferred to be in another state, it makes perfect sense to have a 3rd party make sure the home stays in good condition and alerts you if anything happens like a busted water pipe or a tree falling on it during a storm.

I currently live in and teach 8th grade Science in Winston-Salem North Carolina.

I'm in the North Suburbs up near Six Flags.

I am in the North Houston area, but a lot of services (e.g. tax advice) can be provided remotely - so no matter your location, if you've got a recommendation or a review, shoot! 

If you are going to invest in North Carolina search for Charlotte, Raleigh, Ashville investor groups [Charlotte real estate, Charlotte landlords...]You can also check meetup.com for groups.