I've been in a similar situation to you for 11 years. 9 more and I can retire with a full pension.

One (below), that caught my eye was on Private money raising and also Self Directed Retirement Plans.

But even if you don't buy any other properties, in 30 years it will be all paid off and give you enormous rental income every month, which will allow you and your wife to retire comfortably, and always have a place to stay if needed.The best first steps would be to talk with a lender who can help you figure out what kind of financing you can qualify for, and then a local agent who's experienced in 2-4 unit properties and understands your investing goals.

I have a long term goal of retiring with my own investment portfolio so I am primarily interested in buy and hold or even flip and hold.  

I also want to retire early and hopefully never have to worry about money.I'm looking to establish a network of friends, professionals and potential partners that can help me in my Real Estate Investing journey, and hopefully when I figure out what I'm doing, I can return the favor!

With the increase of baby boomers retiring, and people wanting to downsize earlier in life, there will likely be an increase in demand for these types of facilities. 

Or you can go through a private money lender or seller financing, maybe the seller is retired and doesn't need a lump sum of several hundred thousand dollars, but wants a steady check without having to do any work or manage anything or anyone,  for this option you can try negotiating seller financing where they carry the note and you pay them as you would a bank.

short-term, passive income (on nice houses I could sell tomorrow if ever needed to) with long-term equity&appreciation in retirement as the goal, and teach our boys REI as we go along of course!

The options given to her are to settle for a ridiculous sum of money, which she can't afford since she is retired, or sell her the property.

I am a trucker driver by trade and am looking to learn about investing in properties to rent for cash flow and retirement.