You're just addicted to the internet (like me, but I'm retired, you're not).Sorry, had a kid yesterday saying he was here to learn....no he wasn't, he got good advice and wanted to argue that he could step right into advanced areas dealing in foreclosures.

Ultimately my desire is to replace my current income, finance child's higher education and build wealth so that I may retire comfortably.

There are deals out there (non foreclosure) you just have to really keep an open eye and or have a realtor who knows exactly what you are looking for keep an eye out for you.Unfortunately as you mentioned the taxes in our home state or insane and I often think if I invested the money I haev invested in NJ RE out of state I could probably retire by now!

The reason I say 10 years is I will be able to withdraw retirement money then without penalties attached.

It is not the quick method but it is a method that many people we know have done.We hope to retire off the cash flow in 15 years with a pension, God/Navy willing. 

We are investing for future cash flow, as we hope to use these house in 15 years to retire early.

A career in the military with a pension when you retire along with a portfolio of rental properties sounds like a great way to build long term wealth.

None the less with the military going back and forth with my future I am questioning if staying in for retirement is the answer.  

You should be able to mitigate that somewhat during your qualification process, by picking historically stable tenents.

Fortunately, I met a local guy who is retiring and would like to transition to focus more on private lending.