You should have a healthy buyers list.Two Great reads, I bought both J.

I don't think you would get a high enough LTV with a part-time job.Or if you want to skip out of the full-time job scenario;Advice2: Find a property for $15K with a min. repairs that will bring the ARV to $50K+Find a hard money lender which is usually 65%-75%, let's say 65%.With your $10K as part of the 35% skin in the game. 

At that point contribution from your W2 income is no longer necessary, although it will grow the equity position of the business and support healthy growth.Dept pay down will accelerate over time and start to pick up after about 5 years on a 30 year note.

Finding people with skin to put in is one game.

With no skin in the game, you never know what you are going to get hit with for utility bills.

I'm hoping that my wife and I's combined good income plus being able to put more skin in the game will get me past my "newbie" status?

Plus, I think for you, it's probably healthy for your agents to know they have competition for your business. 

They all promise this will be the time that they are different blah, blah, blah.So the mentor wants to know they have skin in the game where if the steps are not followed the results will be painful and they will lose money.

Biggest thing they want to see is skin in the game.  

Additionally, you are the common link between all roomers - each has a lease with you and no {social} contract with one another - and, as a consequence, you will be sucked into more roommate issues;3) You will want to bake the use of a cleaning service into your budgeting numbers ... where the kitchen, bathrooms, laundry, living room, etc are common spaces, it is quite likely no-one will clean them properly;4) Our experience has been that a rooming house works best if you, or someone you explicitly trust and/or who also has skin in the game, resides in the property.