If you think you can manage a mortgage, taxes, insurance and the upkeep of a home while paying your student loans then buying is not  bad idea but if you think you will overstretch yourself renting is nto bad either.

However, you can get loans that are based on the performance of the rental and not your personal income and debt.

@Fulati PaerhatiA 1031 exchange is a powerful strategy to defer capital gains taxes and grow your rental portfolio.

This would allow you to indefinitely defer all of the tax if you sold, and use the tax you would have had to pay, to purchase something nicer in an area with a greater growth potential.   

The city where you invest determines all long-term income characteristics.

The $100-$300/month amount is just a generalization - but the point is, on a monthly basis you don't see a huge income per property - and you also have to absorb repair expenses and such as well.   

Quote from @Erick Pena: A "good" rental property is one that covers all expenses (mortgage, taxes, insurance, maintenance, property management fees, and any other costs) and still leave a surplus (commonly referred to as cash flow).Calculate cash flow as: Cash Flow = Rental Income − Operating Expenses − DebtThere's much more to it, but that's the basic idea.

Section 8 could also work as a hybrid strategy here; the stable income is nice, and with good property management, it’s pretty hands-off.

Personally I never listen to what the seller states the income is as they are sometimes way off.

In some cases interest paid on the HELOC can be tax deductible if the funds are used for home improvements.Best of luck from Fort Worth!