So I don't care if you don't participate in my or any other program, contribute financially to BP (if you don't you SHOULD bc of all the value they give you, and trust me they work their BUTTS off!)

So keep on moving and hopefully the community can contribute to your success. 

Do the math with the terms you can get for financing, your down payment, assuming the 50% rule (or lower if you're willing to contribute your time for free) and then compute your cash on cash return.  

Since i have no skills nor knowledge to contribute to R.E , the only thing i can offer is my time and energy .

Dawn,One of the characteristics of a roth IRA and roth 401k is that you can withdraw contributions at anytime without penalty. http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-prior/p590--2013.pdf has more details on page 70.http://www.biggerpockets.com/real-estate-investing... has a roth ira as a way to finance investments.

each of us will likely contribute equal amounts, if that has any bearing.thanks

However, if you intend to still help them out by paying part then you'll want to make sure you can afford your contribution, plus all existing debt service, in addition to the payments on whatever new house you find.I recommend you find a lender nearby, perhaps a community bank, and start trying to form a relationship. 

I hope I can contribute back by sharing some of my experiences.Regarding healthcare, the Microsoft plan was what I would consider a 'Cadillac' plan. 

Sellers can contribute towards bona fide closing costs but not the down payment.

HI Asha,If the property you're buying is under market it may be better to purchase using FHA depending on the condition of the property since FHA requires a very small down payment of 3.5% on 3 unit residential.This way you can go in with very little money at risk, fix/repair, and refinance into less expensive conventional financing about 7-9 months post FHA closing/rehab.The upside is you have less money at risk and you can use forced/found equity to serve in place of what would have been your contributed equity via much larger 25% down payment.