@Tony HofferSince you already have individual 401k plan established you can easily convert that into self-directed Solo 401k and use that for alternative investments.

(I guess that debt has to be paid off by someone) I would love to fix up some of the abandoned communities and convert many to gated communities I just have to do more research and analysis on the economy/recovery.

@Jerad Gardner  I was going to say the same as Tyson, converted a primary residence into a rental property is pretty popular.   

Does it have a basement or attached garage you can convert into a studio apartment?

As more and more people convert these to single family homes, the two flat becomes more and more rare in this neighborhood and more desirable.

I have been weighing the pros and cons of getting my license to get immersed in the RE market and convert that knowledge to investing for myself.

I collect a convertible "Holding Deposit" for any unit I hold for a tenant - for any length of time.

Eventually it may return to a tenants' market but hopefully you've been saving during those years so that if central AC becomes a competitive advantage, you can convert.

Then once it has past the qualification time period, convert it over to an investment property and do the same thing over and over again.  

I'm converting it to a two unit.