You can't beat that. http://www.bankrate.com/finance/mortgages/getting-va-loan.aspx#slide=1I don't think you have enough cash on hand to really do a flip right now (I don't know how much you'd need because don't know your area but I'd imagine CT is not super cheap) Yes, you can use a hard money lender, but they'll want you to have a considerable amount of "skin in the game" especially on your first.

Your skin in the game is your time, effort, and expertise in doing the deal.

Dwight,We have been looking for hard-money in CA, and have not found anyone willing to do the types of loans that make sense - even at 70% LTV with our skin in the game.If you come across anything that makes sense, please let me know?

But all of them require you to have skin in the game.

I have found that the vast majority of PMs in the area are skinning their homeowner clients every chance they get. 

Figure we'll do a couple house hacks to get some skin in the game!

I have a bunch of clients who use them, and they've all given glowing reviews.

You want the buyer to have skin in the game, i charge 5k non refundable earnest money and 10k depending on how large the deal is. 

Typically, it's best to have some skin in the game by putting a down payment, which helps your cash flow.

Just go slow and learn there are many ways to skin a cat in this game but you have to choose 1 way and get really good at it and that process takes time, things dont happen over night.