However, I have a little nest egg and could easily afford putting the 25% and use as an investment loan so I didn't have to live in it.

Problem: While plotting this, friends, family, and Google seem to argue its a bad idea (right now) because...(1) It doesn't make sense to invest somewhere you won't live in for a long time.(2) It's a bad idea to take on so much debt while you're young. (3) You should have a considerable nest egg of emergency funds before buying a house.Now I'm uncertain.

We are around 40, both starting over, and have an interest in real estate and moreso in building our nest egg late in the game.

Also I would strongly suggest continuing to put money away while you learn, so when you're ready to make the leap you have a great nest egg to get you started.

When they finally are kicked out 3 months after closing you have new holes in the walls, they left the water running and all the windows open and a family of raccoons are nesting in the master bedroom closet.

One idea is doing a few flips to get a good, solid nest egg to invest. 

Yavor sorry, I might have seen carpenter ant frass in pic as well (not uncommon for c/ants to eat termites or nest in areas previously damaged by termites).

Renting as a second exit strategy is nice to have in your back pocket, but if your goal is to flip and this purchase is going to tap out your nest egg then maybe you could just use a home equity line of credit so you can do another deal when this one sells?

She may be a good saver and have a nice nest egg and not even be thinking of asking you to cover her.

This should bring in some new business and help that nest egg grow!