Any advice considering my age, location, etc?

I purchased my first property at age 23 right before the crash in 2008 with 100% financing and its just in the last year come back to what I paid. 

you can see the mechanicals in the basement.. an investors should be able to walk this with a decent agent and in 30 minutes or less note if there are any Major red flags.. you can buy one of those things you plug into the receptacles to see if power is working.. you turn the hot water on.. you run the heater.. check for age.. 

I don't think age of property should be your first criteria.

Also, an early distribution penalty of 10% will apply if the IRA participant is under age 59 /12 at time of the distribution.

I cannot know your age simply by a photo of you but you look rather young to me.

If you are going for a specialized field such as a doctor, lawyer, etc i would say go for it but to simply get a degree to do real estate seems a bit costly and not a wise use of time in the Information Age where most of the education you need for this is readily available for free or the cost of a book.

It means that I should not be responsible for the total cost and should only be responsible for the prorated cost depending upon the age of the countertop.

Its easy to lose track of how much one SHOULD have in the bank because its hard to leave money sitting and not working for you.I understand there are many variables such as age of house, age of roof, age of furnace, etc. 

My goal is to maximize cash flow for early retirement (I am shooting for $10-$15K above bills by age 42).