I might also suggest that you get a second job if you can so that you can start saving extra toward your first down payment which will likely be 20%.  

Which I do not have much saved.

My wife and I  have a decent income, i'm a firefighter and she is a cosmetologist and we had been saving money for a while and had been keeping it in mutual funds.

Ask her if she wants to work until she's 60, or retire earlier.If she says retire earlier, show her the numbers.Have her listen to a podcast of your choice.

I am retiring from my car business in  2 years and plan to be a landlord for 10 or more years.

Reusing it will save you money but you will need more than what you already have I bet. 

She is 75 and was burning through her retirement, so now she rents a room in her apt. in New Haven East Rock neighborhood and has it rented 5-6 nights a week all year round.  

I am meeting with a tax person tomorrow to discuss my plans.As far as the capex, I was thinking I should really use the 18000 initial investment number for CoC because I definitely will me saving that money back with the cash flow.

We are investing for our retirement (or early retirement) and want easy rentals for passive income.

The coastal areas have decent markets mostly driven by tourism and retirement communities.