“Income property can be an important bridge to retirement for those without quite enough to retire in the traditional 
sense,” says J. Camarda, a real estate investor, Certified Financial Planner, and Chief Investment Officer of Jacksonville, Fla.-based Camarda Wealth Advisors. Because real estate is such an inefficient market, it’s possible to find awesome bargains with a very high return on investment, Camarda says. And if you can manage the property yourself, you can collect more income.
Well, speaking from 2 generations of experience, I must agree. Dad helped put us through college with his investment properties that we would work on in the summer. When I got to college, I didn’t have enough funds to pay for the final year tuition, room and board. So I found a small house, cleaned it up over summer with a bathroom/kitchen gutting, and let 2 roommates pay 100% of my room cost. I held that for 10 years after graduation making a monthly income and having a nice equity build paycheck at the eventual sale. What did I do with the funds ?…bought local rentals for a new income stream closer to home. 30 yrs and some 50+ tenants later I can recommend this strategy if you have a mentor you can call on from time to time. ( ps, we’re available ! )
additional resources:
http://www.hgtv.com/income-property/show/index.html
Anibal Group LLC RealtyNetWorth.com 