Hi Dan, it could be a good start I think since you would be able to live rent free and start paying off the mortgage on this first property and / or start saving for buying another one. And you have to live somewhere right.
Also you can learn the ropes. Only downside or maybe is the proximity to the renter.
Stocks is a whole different ballgame. I started in stocks and have a simple strategy which works well. And I am now looking to get into real estate. As diversification and as a way to get a more steady monthly cash flow. For stocks I buy for the long term, dividend paying stocks and sell call options for extra income. Before I buy a stock I mostly first sell a put option. dividends I reinvested and this is now going to my first real estate project. So my advice is do both. If you have not as much experience do some research on ETF's , low cost and easy to maintain. Don't try to predict the market. Just follow a simple strategy that suits you.
