My goal is to find income producing assets for retirement.

A very small percentage have been audited, and all of those had no issues with the audit because they were adhering to the IRS rules.These vehicles are a very effective means to take greater control over your tax sheltered retirement savings and diversify your portfolio into stable and income producing assets such as real property, partnerships, private lending and the like.You do need to become educated on the IRS rules, which apply equally to a conventional IRA but you just are not given the flexibility to need to deal with them.  

(This "short term rental" strategy is a little more hands-on, and volatile compared to renting your home for 12 month+ , but it can possibly produce more income compared to 12 month lease rates, especially in cities like Austin and in areas like Downtown).I know there are certain regulations for short term rentals passed in recent years in Austin so I would research that as well before going that route. 

You feel you have an excellent income producer. 

There is an income producing property that is for sale locally.

The blog has not really produced income in the last year despite loads of work, a lot affiliation networks, and paid social media promotion.

Do you know any body interested in this project?

I'm at the point in life where I'm looking to buy my first investment property and I'm looking for advice on Step 5 (Decide What Niche/Strategy is Going to Get You There) of Bigger Pocket's "Step By Step Guide to Buying Your First Real Estate Investment" post.Here are some details about me:- Not looking to invest as a career, my goal is to have 3 or 4 properties that are fully paid off by the time I retire that are producing a nominal cash flow in the short term.- I'm in my mid-30s and single with a bit of discretionary income that I'd like to funnel into real estate investing, so I can handle a bit of a rehab project (not looking for a full-fledged flip).- Currently debt-free.- Looking to buy in the next 12-18 months.I'm currently leaning towards the duplex route, not as a house hack, but to rent out both sides to it.

When you do an analysis on a property, one thing you look at is the income produced by the property.

Both are walkable, both will produce good returns, but the Raleigh property is in the some what rough part of downtown Raleigh, and would need some repairs done.