I would do a loan with as little as 3% down and leave the rest of the cash in an interest bearing saving account

Bear in mind though that past performance isn't a guarantee of future performance.

In the case of a roof, etc. you could renegotiate a higher sales price (amend the contract) to cover the cost of the upgrade (if the market will bear the increase).

Because a good chunk of what you have to learn to get a RE license has no bearing on whether or not something is a good investment.  

(Typical realistic expectation)To qualify your response, let us know how many wholesale deals you have done in the two years.For further insight, you can give a selling price range as well as your typical expectation for that same $25000 acquisition.I have no idea if a wholesaler expects to make $1000 on a typical deal, or $20,000... or whatever the market will bear. 

In the meantime, I'm wondering if I should try out hard money lending while I'm getting my investment bearings.

Still trying to get my bearings myself!

I've been listening to the podcasts for about 2 months now and it has provided me with the wealth of knowledge I needed to get my bearings in this crazy world of real estate investing.

I shy away from interest bearing accounts because you must pay those pennies to the tenants which is a headache.

Bear and bull markets create their own investor momentum.