How to invest in older age

[Melissa Steinour]

My husband and I have recently inherited 200K and are trying to decide the best way to invest this money for the future. We are in a unique situation because I am 51 and my husband is 69. Therefore, we realize our future investments need to potentially last longer than most.   We are thinking about investing in rental properties - possibly 3 - and allowing the rents to pay the mortgages with time, but realize we may not see money for years from that. Or would it be more wise to pay cash outright for one property, a  tri or a quadplex, to allow more of an immediate cash flow at our age?  Or should we invest in something other than real estate?