I have no real estate experience, but I am looking to venture into it.

Get a lender, enter into contract, close escrow, enjoy your new home. if you have less than 30 days, you would need the seller's cooperation to contact the foreclosing entity to see if they will postpone to give you time to close the deal. it's not guaranteed and the lender is under no obligation to do so but if everyone wins (seller sells, lender gets paid off in full, you get a home), most lenders will provide a small window of time to get it done.

No plans to do anything else.

Note: no - you cannot exclude a mortgage in any case but what you can do is offset the obligation with income from rental income and/or notes receivable.

No one wants to put your money at risk.

@Jessica Cooper there are no areas that are "too saturated" with investors here.

No one ever went broke giving education away. 

@Michael Johnson sure no problem. 

No you can not. 

Not in a rush to pull the money out.I wouldn't mind renting it out but the wife said no.