Does that not now qualify as a steady income stream?

There are pros and cons in my opinion:Pros of many cheaper house:1. easier to buy2. higher rent to priceCons of many cheaper houses:1. less reliable tenant (damaging houses/less reliable income stream).

I own an e commerce company and my wife stays home so I figure I could use my expertise and her time, plus my fathers mls capabilities to continue the revenue stream and grow it.

Not a blood relative.

Advertise rental through several streams (craigslist, sign, word of mouth, Zillow, potentially an agent depending on response rate)2. sign up for a background check service to check on prospective tenants3. cursory review of applicants4. submit a scaled-down list to background service and follow up on any referrals for potentials5.

Once a shark gets a taste of blood they never forget it and will keep going .

While some contractors work on a 1099 basis, I worked as a W-2 for safe harbor reasons (the IRS has vague rules about who is a contractor and who is an employee -- picking the wrong one can get expensive for the parties involved when the IRS disagrees with your choice).I also had to learn how to live on a lumpy income stream as a contractor (if the agency didn't have a project for me to work on [no "billable hours"], I didn't get a paycheck).

Mary passed In 2013. family is only willing to let it go property taxes because they can't or believe that they can't acquire the property rightfully since Mary was not related by blood.

The goals that I hope to achieve through real estate investing are: 1) to provide a cash flow stream for my mother as she gets older and requires assisted living or nursing home facilities, 2) provide a cash flow stream for my younger brother (who has Down's Syndrome) as he gets older and requires assisted living facilities and increased medical attention, and 3) provide a means of early retirement for me and my older brother.While listening to BP podcast #276 (my favorite) the other morning, I had that lightbulb moment of how to get started in real estate investing. 

I do not want or need to take any of the eventual rental income today, I'd like to continue to reinvest it to produce an income stream for retirement.