It's painfully obvious this is an emotional purchase objective.

Any unique situations in New Jersey I should be aware about?

Not to mention the hassle affiliated with Booking.com & TripAdvisor's somewhat frequent errors in booking details and processing.If you are seeing the trajectory of your cabin not meeting your objectives, then it MAY be worth considering adding something other than AirBnB & VRBO.

Every deal is unique though so this is just an assumption to what you described.

I am finding each lender is unique in their own way, but have received some positive responses so hopeful I can get this done in a timely manner.

Clearly, each person has their unique circumstances and decisions of this size should be taken in context, with lots of deliberation and discussion (for all i know, I could be eating my words on this topic 12 months from now!).

would definitely consult an attorney as this is a very unique situation. 

Get them to purchase a money order OR there are programs out there that partner with popular convenience stores where for a small fee they can bring a cash payment and their unique code, and that payment is sent to you as an eCheck.

My primary objective is to secure a primary residence for myself. 1 bed, 1 bath in a safe neighborhood would do the trick.

Is the home being appraised a pretty unique property?