Get a mortgage to pay off her loan, have aunt carry back paper on the rest. 

One of the "10s" can also come from the Seller, if they're willing to carry back. 

I think the outskirts of the "lake" "slopes" etc. even though prices are significantly cheaper carries more risk, assuming you are trying to offset cost.

Not exactly Joe the because the less you know the more about Real Estate the more RISK YOU CARRY. 

It’s easy to get carried away here since I will be living in it for a while, but I need to stay grounded and do what makes most sense from an investment point of view. 

If you pull money out of your home, do you feel confident it will cash flow, or at least carry itself if rents fall 20%?

I have a friend who wants to join my current deal and will be contributing about 50% of the capital for the purchase and rehab portion of the deal.So I'll be providing:Half the capital, finding the deal, taking title, managing the rehab, getting it rented, managing the PM, eventually carrying the mortgage note, and handling the long-term management/distribution of funds.My friend is basically a passive investor and this will be his first out of state deal. 

There has been some legislation that was targeted at high interest lending on primary homes (Dodd Frank act) which could come into play if you do it incorrectly which carries with it high penalties. 

Unfortunately investing out of your area carries with it certain risks, especially if you're not well established/capitalized.

I am a 23 year old firefighter, I’m proud to say I’m debt free and carrying a credit score of 760.