Our long term goal is to purchase and move to a remote ranch and for me to be able to quit my job around 40 years old.

Plus, with how much appreciation is coming to Columbus Ohio, that house will easily 2x or 3x over the next few years from all the population/job/companies developing here.Plus, Anduril just announced another 4k jobs and over 1B+ in development in Columbus Ohio along with all the companies already developing here (Intel, Google, Amazon, FB, Nationwide Childrens, etc)

HELOCs are fine, but keep in mind that you really only want to use 50 percent of less (each) of your available equity just so you aren't creating a problem that you can't solve later if the value of your personal residences fluctuates.If you both have W2 jobs though, have you looked into getting qualified together and just getting a loan, 10 percent down each?

Personally, I bought a 3 bed single family home soon after starting my job and had two friends from college rent which covered my mortgage plus a little extra.

Here are some additional comments to add - please be sure to read the last comment regarding making contributions to both an IRA and 401k.Can I set up a SDIRA if I have full-time job?

However, aside from that, I couldn’t find much information about them, and the only online presence seems to be the wife’s LinkedIn profile (though I’ve never met her in person and am just going off her profile picture on Zillow).After submitting the application through Zillow, we attached our income (two months of pay stubs for each of us from our current jobs), work references, credit and criminal background, rental history, and the contact info for our current landlord (who just so happens to be my fiancé’s father).

Currently have a great job but want to start acquiring  2-4 unit complexes.

With people continually migrating from CA, more jobs moving here (Tesla Semitruck factory being built as I type this), I don't know how this gets solved. 

Quote from @Donnie Jones: The harsh truth is that wholesaling is a job, not a means of investing.

Now if your interpretation is cash flowing enough to quit your job that is another conversation.  20 or 30 properties at 1k a month a door, if managed properly is a great revenue mark in my book.