Well last night at I was talking to a guy at my job who has been wanting to retire basically and he was telling me a story about how he's not sure when he will because of issues he has with his properties and how he has pulled money out of his retirement fund to buy properties, in which he has a total of 10. 

I’m a married father of three (all under 5 yrs) with a good job and a spouse who likes the idea of financial freedom but is risk averse when it comes to investing.  

Below are my thoughts to your questions-Seeking funding (brokers or creative) most likely FHAI'm sure there are many creative ways to get funding, but if you have a full time W2 job, FHA or conventional loan is probably the easiest way to go. 

Even if you decide developing it is not something you want to do the value will only increase as housing damnd increases because of the new jobs.2) - Do not go to a contract and start talking to them.

2 - For a non-flipper with no connections or bulk jobs, how much should I look to pay to renovate a 1000 square foot 3 BR apartment in that "flip" style that is all over Zillow (floors, bathrooms, paint, etc)?

If you're trying to replace income to quit your job, you need cashflow.

tell  her to get of the system and get a job.

That's just a soft-stop limit so I don't get crushed one month because of 10 $200 jobs.

While working full-time jobs we were able to demolish the dilapidated house, a garage, several sheds, and clear and clean our 1.3-acre parcel.

I am looking for someone who specializes in exterior stucco / painting who can do a job for me in Los Angeles / Los Feliz area.