I'd say banking on appreciation to pay off the loan is always a gamble. 

One of two possibilities.1) It didn't happen2) He bought insurance, then filed a fraudulent claim that the damage occurred later.  

With either route, I plan to invest in buy and hold rental properties to cover the student loan payments.So my dilemma is, is it smarter to refinance my loans at around 4% or take the gamble that the PSLF program will be around for the next 10 years and make the minimum payments at 6.8%?

It’s gambling and it will probably make you money if you can hold it long enough.

That means she has fraudulently filed her returns for 10 years.

West of I49 is a gamble...

To take a gamble on a .software or any other (especially a long) TDL is not wise IMO. 

At this point in the consideration, it is a huge gamble for you and your family.

I realize that real estate laws vary widely among the 50 states but could you please cite your source for them being fraudulent.  

Here is the mathematical equation:Assets x ROI = Cashflow > Expense BudgetHere are the steps:Determine you annual Expense Budget based on how you want to live.Example: $75K/yearDetermine your Return on Investment based on your Risk Tolerance.Your Risk Tolerance is based on how wiling are you to risk losing it all when it comes to your incoming producing properties to where you would have to go back to work.Use a scale of 1-100, 1 = cash in mattress and 100 = I'm gambling the rent money a the craps table.Take your Risk Tolerance # and divide by 5 to calculate your ROI.Example: Risk Tolerance = 50, ROI = 50/5 = 10%Income Producing Assets = Expense Budget/ROIExample: $75K/10% = $750K in income producing assetsFor real estate, Income Producing Assets = Property Equity, not the market value of the property.