We are both employed and have good money reserves. 

Had access to hard money at a decent rate, Wanted to employ myself to fix up the building.

It provides solid base of employment.

It enabled me to become self-employed over 4 years ago and I'm never looking back!

The contractor employs the subs, you employ the contractor.

Coolidge doesn't have a big employer base, but it isn't far from Florence which is the county seat where the majority of the government buildings are for the Pinal County, including several of the states prisons which is a huge employer in Florence.  

have about 300k saved up but I wanted to get a loan instead of using my money however the only thing that messes me up is that I haven't had 2 years of prior employment. 

You’ll pay ordinary income tax, along with 15.3% self employment tax....and it doesn’t matter what you do with the money afterward.

With continued hard work, collaboration among our teams, and a little bit of luck, we will begin construction this May and complete the project 12 months thereafter.Reflecting With A Look AheadThis experience over the past 9 months, taking the leap from corporate employment to an entrepreneurial pursuit, has been enormously valuable.

Max out the retirement accounts either way, especially if there's an employer match.