Lender's require a cushion of equity to lend.  

Build in a cushion for maintenance, vacancy, and future capex expenses.

A flip as your first project without the financial cushion is not the best idea. 

Personally I would leave the 15k in the property and have more of a cashflow cushion while also having an infinite return on your money. 

There are often unexpected expenses, and you want to make sure you have enough cushion to get through those surprises.Given the current low inventory environment, I would say securing a good deal is challenging (though not impossible) in general.

We just want to diversify and have 1-2 rentals to park our savings in and as a cushion, in addition to our retirement savings (401k, pension, etc.)

My thought is I can potentially save faster and get a cushion of money in a savings for the property.Thank you 

So my profit cushion got wiped out during the build, but also now I’m realizing that compared to other homes in the area this one has a pretty small backyard and that not helping.   

But that will also give you the cushion to be comfortable until cash flow starts again. 

I am not necessarily looking to get rich, but a cushion would be nice.