Note sure if I am in the right forum. Moderator feel free to move if necessary

My wife is the coordinator for a Neighborhood Support group (which is essentially a 20 house cul-de-sac).
There have been a few incidences of prowlers recently, so we would like to set up a CCTV on our house. 

My intention is to have an NVR (with POE ports) and run ethernet cables to 2 POE cameras.

- One on the garage looking down our drive
- One high up on the peak of the house aimed at the road. The intention of this is to capture the number plate of any cars that enter or leave the cul-de-sac or people walking down the footpath.

There would be no spying on neighbouring houses because the the cameras would only see the public front of our close neighbours.

Bearing this in mind,

1. What NVR would you recommend?
2. Am I correct in assuming that the NVR should be stand alone and not connected to the internet?
2. What cameras are recommended that allow for good distance and have good night vision?

Thanks