"What are my options to do with that same money" you are contemplating using on one house. 

Here's the calculation I ran in contemplating this - hypothetically you have $100k to place tax-free into a retirement account, or you have $60,000 post-tax to invest in RE.

I’ve actually contemplated moving into this home but I’m still working on getting my duplex up to par. 

I'm even contemplating starting a property management company to keep me close to real estate all the time, instead of for my "side hustle". 

My mother is contemplating whether or not to sell her home in Sacramento, CA in order to cash out for retirement and I was wondering if someone can fill me in on what is the current market condition like.  

Jennifer, after contemplating RE investing for way too many years, I finally decided to get serious and start saving money. 

I contemplated being a realtor and I came across Rich Dad, Poor Dad which guided me to the sector of real estate that I was most interested in.

Contemplate reasons an owner would want to sell an income producing property, AND be willing to finance and wait for the full balance? 

And that is EXACTLY what you are contemplating--"looking to purchase my first home with INTENTIONS of flipping it". 

They were contemplating selling to me knowing I'm a real estate investor hoping that I could rent back to them for a lifetime lease while transferring ownership of the property to me, and I'd be responsible for taxes/insurance/remaining mortgage.I've done some research and it seems to be similar to a Home Reversion which is fairly common in European markets.