So, I was wondering if it would be better to buy 3 or 4 rental properties (average price say $75,000) and hold those for 15 or 16 years and then sell some or all of them to pay for college or put money away every year into a 529 plan.Anyone have thoughts on this?

Depending on where the property is located, this is called a wraparound (aka wrap) or all-inclusive trust deed (AITD). 

Wouldn't the ins. co. likely be paying out less because the depreciation they apply cannot be recuperated by the insured... unlike a Replacement Cost policy form where the insured could come back and recoup part or all of the withheld depreciation? 

If so, the cavities behind it will hold moisture long enough to allow mold to form.

I believe any, and/or all of my readers or listeners would clearly agree with that. 

You also might be able to exclude some or all of the gain if it was your residence.

UNLESS there is a dryer duct, stove duct, heat duct, or even furnace exhaust running through a joist cavity that is very drafty to the exterior.

And especially when In essence your doing rehab lending which is what it appears to me from post on BP that others are doing with respect to these EB transactions.. and according to the owners they have ran into bad contractors bad real estate people. etc.. its not like our buying a NOTE on a performing rehabbed asset.. as YOU know rehab lending is the most risky you can do.. short of buying non performing seconds and paying too much for them because you did not understand the value of the collateral or all that goes into securing the collateral...

It can be content, backlinks or all the above.

Apparently there are oral arguments right now and the state's main claim is that Congress did not give the SEC the right to preempt the states.