First you say you have acess to funding but you have low income, Then you talk about using a hard money lender.

My question is: with my current income, I could rapidly pay down a property using my own personal funds in a 2-3 year time frame.

I also don't know if the water / power are metered separately - I plan to drive by today and look for meters.Now that I know I have time to secure funding, it boils down to getting the pre-approvals done and deciding on what I'd bid.So to update my back-of-the-napkin conservative numbers:Rents:  $3900 / mo or $46,800 / yr assuming fully rented which isn't hard here.Expenses: Lawn care ($400 /mo during summer, or $2800 / yr est. 

an option to lower costs would be to consider  slightly higher rate …...title ins is likley needed to provide assurance and insurance no liens have been placed on title since the last loan was made ...if they are asking for funds upfront , before the loan closes - do not use them  ...if the costs are to be paid at closing - this is standard ….she should be able to  roll  any costs into the new loan if there is  ample equity

Funding 3.

I've heard snippets of people mentioning using their IRA's to help fund deals, but I don't fully understand it.

Private funds from Myself and another investor.

Speak with a bank to make sure you have funding lined up, as to not waste anyone's time.

You can get better funding if you partner with someone who has at least 2 properties completed under their belt.

Down payments and disbursement of funds.4.