But if you're middle aged with family / kids and want to use the cash flow to supplement lifestyle, take the less riskier investment of B/C SFR's.I for one is in a similar cross roads; currently weighing in the opportunity to buy a C-grade 106 unit vs. a 16-portfolio SFRs.

Now (recently) having sold that house, we're looking to reinvest the equity into flips (when the numbers/market allow for it) and rentals (preferably small multi's or small apartment complexes) - with the goal of building up a rental portfolio that supplements the W2 income (maybe one day near retirement it could replace it?).

I would treat the podcasts as a supplement to whichever formal education path you choose.

While it isn't something I do regularly for rentals [unless it is an incredibly high-end high-rent ($6K+/month), that is] I've found they are actually a great way to supplement the property's listing on sites like Zillow/Trulia/etc by providing buyers with an extra layer of depth. 

Good tenants, all tenants, expect to pay market so as much as a landlord may think they are making points with tenants by supplementing their rents tenants have zero loyalty to any landlord. 

I am putting my career on hold as an Architect to grow a property management company here in CT, and plan to supplement my income with commissions from helping investors buy/sell properties. 

I'd save this for something you have a HIGH probability to close on and even then have it supplement YOUR research...

We're hoping to supplement at least one of our incomes using cash flow from rental properties and run the home inspection business ourselves.

@Tom Hertel It very much depends on your goals.Are you building long term wealth as a substitute or supplemental retirement fund?

I'm hoping to shortly move over to a position where I play a bad actor and attack organizations entire networks.My goal with real estate is to supplement or replace my income.