I completely agree with @Steve Rozenberg about dedicating time to get educated and planning out the short and long term goals that you and your wife want to achieve.

I do however see people upgrading their primary residence to now include a home gym, dedicated office space and home theater room..

If you have never heard of the BRRRR strategy, scan the Bigger Pockets podcasts for an episode dedicated to it. 

If you want to dedicate your time to clean out too, that's fine, but get it done. 

With the technology out there and available to us today, you can really dedicate some time and perform a thorough analysis.

We'll operate a bed & breakfast with 3-4 high-end guest suites, install a dedicated 2BR apartment to stabilize cash flow, and open a gallery and event space tied to the local artist community.

Assuming it’s one of those few decent programs then the biggest variable becomes the dedication and drive of the student to execute what they learn.

How much time do you want to dedicate to real estate?

Given this market, I have found that the most successful properties: are in safe neighborhoods, slightly below market rent, include a dedicated parking space (very important), a place to cook (kitchen or kitchenette) and a high number of bathrooms per bedroom (e.g. if 2 bedrooms or more, make sure there are 2 bathrooms).

The key is being able to distinguish the % dedicated to investment (work use).