@Michaela G. , you always have the most interesting questions!
I'll start by disclaimer that I do own some BlTCOlN (BTC) and a warning:
**** This is a highly speculative and highly volatile commodity /cryptocurrency/medium of exchange - whatever you want to call it. Every second you hold it, it can be gyrating wildly in value. There are also risks regarding storage and the "wallet." I do not recommend holding any funds in BTC that you cannot afford to lose completely at a moment's notice.***** Having said that, I own some and am buying some relatively small amounts of other "cryptocurrencies" with some highly speculative funds I have on the side, since I haven't been to a casino in a while.. if you're interested, look up litecoin, ripple, and the rest.. I'm very interested in this idea! - thanks for the mention @Troy Fisher .
Can you accept it for rent? Of course. You can accept whatever you would like: US dollars, goat's milk, BTC, 30hrs of work, etc etc. Is it a good idea and are there enough people to have it make sense? Maybe a different answer.. But it apparently has already been done! (See link at bottom). You may have to be able to show where you got it from when your bank sees large transactions from BTC to USD - and you might get a lot of questions. The Senate had a hearing on it a couple weeks and all regulators noted it's legitimate purpose, while expressing the need to ensure it is not used for illicit purposes. Many BSA/AML concerns are similar to cash. Hard to trace. But the legit exchanges all ask for identity documentation now. You can buy and sell it just like a stock. If you constantly changed the BTC rent payment based on the then-asking price for USD, you could theoretically accept the payment and IMMEDIATELY exchange for USD. But transaction costs and timing risks there too.
For buying property, it would be very difficult to find someone willing to accept BTC. But, you could of course sell your BTC for USD on one of the exchanges (BTC-e, Coinbase) and purchase the property in USD (again you may have the Bank asking you all kinds of questions about where these funds came from, ESPECIALLY from another bank if you are getting a loan also.) Branson announced they'll be accepting BTC for Virgin space flights next year, but beyond that and a few restaurants, it's mostly just accepted at certain online retailers you've never heard of (although you could get most anything you would need probably - see link)
Regarding a Ponzi Scheme and its (un?)usefulness for transactions, is that it is more like gold. It has value today because of it's somewhat limited supply (21 million bitcoins maximum ever, currently ~12MM. Gold is difficult to find and extract), and because people believe that someone is later willing to purchase it for a similar or greater amount because it is viewed as a store of value. (Sometimes referred to as the "greater fool" principal). Neither have much usefulness beyond that (but gold is physical and shinier..) Both are traded on multiple exchanges with private parties (in fact the decentralization of BTC is one of it's favored properties - making the Ponzi difficult..)
But a big difference!: BTC hasn't been used as a medium of exchange for thousands of years across the world! My play here (again, with very speculative money), is that investment advisers and the Winklevoss twins are rushing to set up investment funds to buy the stuff and it's just getting on the public radar. If it gains any sort of small foothold, the value could be in a different universe from what it is right now. Plus China and India love it, and there's lots of people in those countries (and only 21MM bitcoins for the rest of time!). Or everyone could forget about it next year, like the Dutch tulip bulb craze from centuries ago and be worth zero!! But that's why you have to use your play money..
This link is straight from the people promoting its usage, so probably has a positive spin, but very informative. Plenty of criticism out there too online.
http://bitcoin.org/en/faq#what-is-bitcoin
..and the property manager accepting BTC..
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/4/prweb10608334.htm
..shops accepting bitcoin
https://www.spendbitcoins.com/places/
Michaela, if you're really interested, skip going out to dinner one night, transfer $20 to coinbase.com, and purchase a fraction of a BitCoin! But remember my warning.. Only with play money! Have fun!