We plan to spend the next 6-12 months continuing to earn and save, as well as nail down a final market we want to househack in.

We've been reading everything we can get our hands on, listening to podcasts, and spending time every morning reading and learning from the forums here at BP. 

I’m based out of Lehi, Utah, and have always been fascinated by the potential of real estate to create opportunities and build wealth.After spending time learning about the industry and what it takes to succeed, I’m ready to dive in and start making deals happen!

Spend time getting to know your investment objectives.  

If your time is worth $500 an hour I would spend the 5k on 10 hours of searching for a free mentor.

If you go with the partnership route1) You need to manage the money going in and out of the business bank account.2) File a partnership return and be responsible for issuing K-1's3) make distributions to you and your partner for cash flow that you receiveYou will likely spend many hours on a nice gesture.I may want to consider instead to give a christmas gift or a bonus for early completion of projects.

If you are able to manage it yourself, I think you will get a lot of very helpful education in real estate by spending a least a year or two doing that.You'll be able to work with property managers a lot better if you've done the work yourself for a bit, and it also helps to get familiar with the various laws and regulations you have to comply with as the owner, even if you do have a property manager in place (e.g., the new RI rental registry and associated lead paint inspections/certificates).It's up to you whether you're able to do it, but I think you'll get a lot out of the experience if you can try it for a year or two.

You can probably spend much less time touring and learning new things than you would in an otherwise unfamiliar market: laws, neighborhoods, tax considerations, etc.Scenario 2: Stay in Place & Buy an Out-of-State Multi-Family Property1. 

I “assume” they meant you wouldn’t defer all your taxes if you used leverage on a $450k purchase instead of “spending” all your cash.

That's understood.Page 19, Two faces of Debt: Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago - "banks exchange a borrower's "promissory note" or "security" for a check that other banks can deposit" (so the note is funding a check) same page states, "...the borrower can spend the deposit acquired by borrowing"...