Remember that an electrician does make good money after his apprentanceship but it is seasonal work so your household income may fluctuate throughout the year.

The overall vacancy rate is not atrocious, 11% which tells you they rent fast for right price.You are in a low income area, median household is barely $36k/yr. 98% of the local residents didn't go to College, so you get an idea of the wages. 

My wife and I are fortunate enough to earn enough from our 9-5's to make well above the local median household income, but are not in a position to start purchasing property for cash.

Banks will be looking at your DTI as a household, so those debts of your wife's may be part of the issue- you don't mention if that's a very large number, but those car payments can really add up.You are in a good position in terms of having plenty of equity, but as I have learned from personal experience, equity and $4 will get you a cup of coffee at Starbucks, lol.

We have talked about doing this for 15 years as we have rehabbed our own houses and believe this would be a good time to strike.Our ultimate goal is to obtain 10 rental properties in the next 5 years to create enough passive income to run our household.  

any details would be helpful. or is one person in military per household the 80% rule?

So I'm wondering if a first time home buyer, with excellent credit, almost no debt and a household income between $120-$140k could get an 80/15/5 or am I stuck with the 80/10/10?

According to an article titled, “Workers Saving Too Little to Retire” by the Wall Street Journal, 10,000 people are turning 60 every day and 57% of US workers surveyed, report less than $25,000 in household savings.

First thing is that governments are not household incomes as they like to portray that relationship, totally a different world.

Sounds like a lot, but compare it to the total number of rentals out there.There are 115 million households in the US.