Like others said 70% rule is just a guideline which help you weed out unrealistic deals quickly, if you look at so many deals per day this help you save time on deal analysis and let you do other stuffs.

You will save on the HOA fees.

My wife does not work and we have a good amount of "stupid" debt (credit cards/hospital bills/student loans) and not very much in savings and fair credit.

I've been browsing this forum for years and listened to countless podcasts and I purchased 2 books by J.Scott who seems to be the father figure here in BP.I feel like the only way I can finally "get it" us by doing it, but the problem is I live in SoCal and with my savings and my income, no bank would offer me a loan needed to flip a house... 

I still work in education, the salary helps me out qualifying for mortgages and I can save all of my cash flow and build up my reserves.

You will still need to offer a buyer agent some sort of compensation, but you are saving the listing side of the transaction.

No agent needed, that would save him AND you money!

I'm new to real estate investing and I'm exploring the idea of using money that I have tied in a 401k retirement fund in exchange for an investment property.  

@Alex CottmanSee following regarding the 401k loan rules. https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/retirement-plans-faqs-regarding-loans

Hello my name is Carolyn , my husband Ron and I are just beginning to consider flipping houses, we are semi retired in the Daytona Beach, Fl area , we own and operate a state licensed Roofing company and would like to find others in the area who we might consider partnering with, if there is a good fit, Ron is a retired carpenter with hundreds of remodeled homes to his credit, hope everyone has a blessed day and finds the true Joy of friendship.