Should I borrow from my home's equity to start investing in real estate?

[Mark Boyd]

With absolutely no prior experience investing in real estate, I'm getting to the point/age where retirement from corporate America is getting closer and closer, however I still have 2 kids to put through college over the next 2-6 years. I have a 401k, IRA, and pension in place to help me achieve retirement quicker, however I definitely feel the squeeze on a daily basis and always feel like I'm living paycheck to paycheck. I'd estimate that I currently have about $300k in equity on my home, and am seriously considering borrowing some of it to invest in real estate, however I have no idea what the best options would be (syndicating, rentals, flips, lending, etc). Curious how someone with a bit of real estate experience would handle this type of situation. I'd like to be fairly hands-off due to daily work commitments, and looking for something that doesn't involve a ton of risk. What are my best options?