Then, once we've been there a little while and are comfortable with the area, we'll rent that one out a by another to live in.

Look into something like a Dave Ramsey or equivalent that you're comfortable with.

There is so much potential and passive income available to be retired/comfortable at 25-30!

A comfortable amount in savings.

TK is a decent option but keep in mind that if you are buying one property and are limited to just buying that one (either because of cash or credit) it can be rough because of the time requirements to get comfortable and learning curve as well the lack of scale because you only have that one property.

@Mark Gallagher - If time is of the essence and you don't have time to do a full title search prior to bidding, and auction terms say a SWD will be conveyed, do you feel comfortable bidding on the property (knowing that is it is vacant and in decent condition, walk through done, minimal work needed)? 

Expenses (taxes, HOA, insurance) are $267/moI came up with a Cap of 8% (the bottom of where I am comfortable).If I had $80k in cash sitting around, I would jump on this deal, but as it stands we would have to either 1) buy in a self-directed IRA for a longterm investment or 2) cash out part of our IRA, take a tax hit now, but enjoy $600/mo extra income forever.

Once you are more comfortable flipping and have a good team in place (i.e. contractors, realtors, lawyers, etc.) and your speed and predictability improves, then I would start using leverage to scale up your business.

Anyway I am planning to wholesale, then once I get comfortable with that, moving on to more profitable ventures.  

You cannot refinance the option later should you need or want to maximize cash flow or pull out equity.