Should I invest in rental properties with my 401K?

[Kathleen Amundsen]

Hello  I have a 401k worth 250000 and I am retiring from company> Im 55 years old and want to buy some rental properties for my 2 kids to rent from me.. I need the income from the rental properties now and was considering buying the rental properties instead of doing the stock market??  What are some of the tax issues I will run into and do I have to declare the rental income ?  Not sure what to do?