If you want to combine two or more lesser sales into one higher purchase that is fine as long as your purchase meets the timing requirements for each sale.  

This is my first purchase, where my intent was to install recessed lighting all throughout the house.

refinance our own home with some money down + purchase another flip? 

Alot of unknowns as you don't have the ability to walk the property beforehand, but interesting process, and pretty good deals exist there.While the Trustee Sales are cash purchases, there are many hard money options that can turn over the funds in time for the 24 hour funding required to complete the purchase.If you are interested, let me know and I can go into more detail, as well as make some other suggestions for you to consider. 

Purchase price: $70,000 Cash invested: $60,000 Sale price: $70,000 Have under contract for $70K and will rehab.

So it was 153k for the purchase and 40k for the rehab, I had to come up with the rest. 

I would be thinking about future loans as I plan to do purchase another property soon after.

Loan Amount: We specify this as a percent of the purchase price.

Nobody who has been purchasing section 8 rentals for 2 years and doesn't understand the costs associated with operating these assets sustainably has any business investing other's money.

You could sell the AITD to a note buyer who will pay off the underlying at closing - BUT the buyer will need to purchase the wrap for at least the amount of the underlying.