Okay, I now have the okay, access to 50k -- what are my immediate next steps? 

Scott and his book on flipping houses. 1) solidify our commitment to real estate and learn the business2) earn extra income for investing and save $$$ when we buy and sell 3) have full access to the MLS to make our own offers and run comps4) have more control of our dealsWe will be focusing on buying, rehabbing and selling SFRs short term.

As an informal partnership can one of you access money from the same account? 

I have access to some hard money and am looking for opportunities to buy. 

It can be done but the restriction will cost your business by missing out on deals that do involved agents.

As a Real Estate Broker, I have access to all of this information and with intimate knowledge of the area I can help you sort out the details.

The technician no longer had free access and had to empty and count the coins in front of us. 

You'll need to have the seller (or potentially the lender) pay for it.More details on not allowed fees are here:http://www.benefits.va.gov/homeloans/purchaseco_lo...As for grants, just in case the disability is such that the home would need modified for physical access etc... the grants fall under Special Housing Adaptation: http://www.benefits.va.gov/homeloans/adaptedhousin...Hope that helps!

I also use other investors SDIRA's...which means I have access to an unlimited number...based on the limits of available SDIRA's and their available funds.

Once you have these items checked, you will have access to all the cash buyers!