I would also prioritize trying to replace your regular 9-5 job and then gradually increasing your income with more experience.

@Emily Anderson true on the flat 24% tax rate on rental income without the possibility to deduct costs from it.Keep only one thing in mind: rental income is being added to regular taxable income (salary and rental income).So I could deduct costs before ending up with taxable rental income, however for me, it is being added and calculated together with my salary income.That means I'm easily reaching higher tax brackets even after the deductions, while with a flat rate it always stays the same (even if you earn way more rental income).

Somewhere in there, there has to be a mechanism that makes the regular commentators some kind of money.Really, how do you explain what it's like to live the different versions of this real estate life and be as focused as we are on things that are so different from what most people think about?

Landlords should inspect their properties regularly and be aware of what's going on.

Long term rentals have the least amount of interaction required, but short term rentals (AirBnB, etc) have higher profit margins - but require a lot more attention (some companies charge 30% for management and the daily turnover service, for instance).I would suggest you compare your potential rates of return from real estate with other investment vehicles.  

On our home page lendingwise.com you can take an interactive demo of the system:  Product Tour

@Chris Burchsee this threadhttps://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/49/topics/678...same thing as yours guy hits me on BP.. i new he was a fake first e mail.. but I wanted to see where it would go.. so that i could post the real time interaction for BP members.. if a conversation goes anywhere near what is in my post its 99% fake.I have been in the lending business for 4 decades I looked at CI to list our lending products ( very niche) it cost money and i just did not get a good vibe for the whole thing.. all these lead source you know pay 2k for this super secret software that is going to put all these distressed assets in your lap.. well that simply does not happen.. finding distressed assets is expensive time consuming endevour.. the guys and gals i know that do it . 

I see these four rentals providing us a regular stream of income during retirement. 

It's important to go there in person, at the very least do video calls if you can't fly out and be in regular communication with whoever is working on or managing your property.

The purpose would be to rent it out through a property manager just like a regular single family home.