I heard some guru say something about getting his funding from regular people who have retirement accounts.

Our "regular jobs" are nurse practitioner and user experience designer. 

Was wondering if this is the best route to go or would it be better to use extra money to give me and my wife's ira and 401k a big boost.

Regular financing may come in at just over $400K conservatively. $300K would be needed for DP.

I don't have any real estate properties, but I was considering going the section 8 route.

A better route might be to put up some cash and partner with an experienced investor in the area.  

Good luck to you & I hope the turnkey route works out well for you.

If this is your only route, like Ned Carey said, you should start by meeting with several of these lenders either directly or through networking events and get a feel for them.

I think for the house hacking approach the first goal should be to have your tenants paying for your expenses so you're able to live there for "free" So if you'll be making enough money from rent to pay your regular bills like the mortgage, taxes, insurance, utilities, etc. and can put the excess money and your own monthly "rent" contribution aside for cap ex and other maintenance you'll be in good shape.

Usually the points are paid in full regardless of it is a 3 month or 12 month loan, unlike the regular monthly interest rate.