Lack of good paying jobs don’t allow for much home ownership and most rentals are so run down they practically need gutted, and most renters can only afford Section 8.

My 5 year goal is to make enough in passive income to quit my job in order to spend more time with my two kids, travel more, and secure retirement. 

They are responsive and returned 3 months after the completed job due to one of the systems not working (did not charge for this repair).

You're completely dependent on the quality of your property management company and when they do a poor job screening, you end up with a destroyed property and expensive evictions.

If looking at this correctly, it will place us essentially into the "financial freedom" area we've been striving for (but we will still keep our day jobs).  

I am blessed with great tenants but I still want to sell at market price ($335K-ish) because I lost my job and I am planning to leave the country to find job elsewhere.

Good job Courtney.

Which leads me to my goals in REI - the end goal is to build a rental portfolio that will provide enough income to allow me to quit my job, but I'm not in a place financially just yet to start that.

I can paint, but that is about the extent of my talents.

i would stay away from SFH as your first purchase. you are 100% responsible for that mortgage should something happen like you lose your job or something. a multi family gives you breathing room. one thing to keep in mind is the taxes...sure the Bronx may have higher prices compared to NJ....but you can find properties in the bronx with 2-3k annual property tax rates.....while Jersey has some of the highest property tax rates in the country. factor that into your math and not just the purchase price.