This is also not the ideal option because you'll be spending so much on rent in the interim while waiting for your rehabilitations to be done.Few thoughts to leave you with: 1) Will your kids ever need money for schooling/life expenses? 

But that's not ideal from an investment standpoint since we want to be financially free in a few years. 

Just make sure the comps are within the last 6 months ideally and find guys who are licensed to do the work.

.- Find areas that many investors are going to (vacant lots of land - 'If I were an investor, what are the benefits of buying this lot of land')- Neighborhoods where the homes are being renovated (bringing property values up)- Anywhere next to a Metro is ideal (I just missed out on a great townhouse next to Capital Heights station.

ARE YOU CONNECTED w/ ANY INVESTORS/REALTORS in IDEAL AREAS?  

Ideally, that meat-eating mentality will help you when it comes to negotiating the best price.Regardless, if you're going to deliver bad news...like refusing to meet you at a showing...the realtor needs to man up and call.

(unless you are very confident she can afford the place on her own, you can not depend on money from the husband).Ideally your goal should be to encourage her to move before you end up on the short end. 

I deal with REI as partners from out of state looking for this very thing all the time.

Ideally if you have three, you clean up one outside and in and sell it to an investor.  

The owner would like $1,200,000 and will carry a note for $1,000,000 - $1,100,000. he ideally wants $200,000 down.As with most new investors I do not have capital for that type of down payment.A liitle about myself:I work a regular 9-5 job and also have a realtors license I have done two wholesale deals in the last couple months since starting to devote a couple hours a night to investing.