There is also about 40% less inventory for Condos than there is for Co-ops.If you're mainly looking to invest in an apartment to save on rent and learn the market, I'd recommend a small multifamily (2-4 unit) investment.

Find another place to rent and continue saving

You may have to sell the whole property to access the funds in the IRA or 401k when you retire and for required minimum distributions. 

I have not paid yet- pls help a senior citizen salvage his entire lifes savings!

The larger wholesalers use VA to skip trace and cold call saving them all of the work but you need capital for that.I recommend going to some events here in the DFW area.

I have approx $10m in retirement accounts.

Its interest income - unless you wanted to run it through a C corp but then you pay corp tax first.Other option is to use a deferred retirement account. 

STRs have unique tax considerations, so setting up the right systems early will save you headaches down the road!

The depreciating asset is already factored into my investment strategy.It will take me a little while to save up enough money to get something, so I have some time to figure out what I want to do.

This has saved me hundreds of thousands of dollars.