She is also retired and has a lot of free time to devote to this.I am currently rehabbing 1 unit in the community (acquired via quit claim deed) and there are several more on the way; 3 coming next month.

I hear a lot of talk about Solo 401 (k) being the best vehicle to set up for a retirement plan and then set up a self directed IRA to fund a portion or all to invest in what you choose.  

What steps should I take to obtain the capital needed for such a venture I'm looking to buy multiple properties and want this to be my early retirement plan.

Other reading....http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/51/topics/63454-list-of-self-directed-ira-companieshttp://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/51/topics/64530-best-self-directed-ira-trust-companies-http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/51/topics/58063-who-is-your-self-directed-ira-custodian-of-choice-why-http://www.biggerpockets.com/blogs/3258-self-directed-retirement-plans

Grows intosomething we can RETIRE early,happily, and securely on. 7.       

I have two acquaintances that are auctioneers, one still active the other pretty much retired.

It used to be that someone would buy a house and work to pay it off by the time you retired.

There are some prohibited transactions they need to make you aware of when you are interacting with a business owned by your retirement account.

There are several major reasons why it is better, here are few:No need for a custodian - eliminate custodian feesHave checkbook control without the use of an LLC - again savings $$ and simplicityShelter nearly $50K of your income from taxes (compare that with $5,500 if you use IRA)No tax on leveraged real estateAccess your funds tax free and penalty free before retirement if needed using Participant Loan feature.and few more.Feel free to explore my other posts if you wish to learn more about all the details.

Because I cannot co-mingle my personal bank a/c with my CheckBook IRA LLC a/c (till retirement age), and because my CheckBook IRA LLC does not have enough funds to do a complete flip, my only option is to borrow private loans from qualified individuals - or partner with another flipper LLC.