You will still have to make decisions, and ultimately, you are entrusting someone else with your asset.

As a first step, I’ll print and read The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Real Estate Investing.

Cash flow is great, but it can feel incremental compared to the boost you get from equity plays.For me, it's more situational.

The primary advantage is the tax-deferred or tax-free growth—like other IRAs, any profits from real estate investments grow without immediate tax consequences, which can significantly boost your retirement savings over time.

We needed resources and ultimately partners. 

I know there is a lot that I'm going to need to learn, and ultimately it will come down to how much the student puts into it.  

Start with BiggerPockets Ultimate Beginners Guide (free).

Quote from @Denise Lang: Hello everyone,my wife and I want to start our real estate investing journey to boost our wealth and retirement fund.

But from what I have seen it has a lot of useful accounting tools that should make my life significantly easier, and ultimately that's what my intent is.

Plus, the lack of state income tax in some of these regions can boost your returns.I work with investors similar to you who aim to expand and diversify their portfolios.