His wife has a good job, so I am confident in his ability to pay the money back even if something bad happens to the house.

You could rollover your old 401k into truly self-directed Solo 401k plan, and then invest in real estate under your 401k.

I look forward to learning more and struggling through the process, but I believe grit, determination and knowledge will help us in our journey.Looking at where you are now and where you were when you started, what would impart to your newbie self?

Investing in what you know can make sense and a self-directed IRA can allow for that.Flipping with an IRA has complexities. 

We have managed our own 6 properties for over 10yrs and have engulfed ourselves in self teaching and research.

@Daniel Tisdale I am in Austin (Lakeway to be exact) and I can confidently tell you that I do not invest here.

I watched a video which helped explain some of the numbers, but I still do not feel confident in what I am doing yet.

I watched a video which helped explain some of the numbers, but I still do not feel confident in what I am doing yet.

You can buy real estate inside of your Roth IRA, in order to do so you must convert your IRA into self-directed. 

Provide self-directed IRA funds in the form of a note (private money) and find like minded flippers in the same situation with IRA money to invest to then fund my flips.