My appreciation market has afforded me the ability to pull out equity and grow, and long term will provide me with better wealth accumulation.My cash flow market affords me the ability to replace my income and will provide me with the means to "retire"I would never sell one for the other and like the balance each provides

That makes me feel a little safer in my real estate investing for retirement porposes.This is just my mid-night rambling, I'll probably wake in the morning to read this and see that I had mae no reasonable sense. :)dustin

Secondly, creating the same result by having tenants pay off my properties and create a retirement income over the next 15 or so years.

That extra few years of schooling will earn you so much more money over your career.Sadly many just go for bachelor degrees which are worthless in many cases.Almost all these applicants will have bachelor degrees.The paper won't get you the job it will be how you present and sell yourself and networking skills.So certain fields it pays to have a degree.Most don't know what they want in college and get a Bachelor of Business degree etc. that covers many jobs.Most of these students are saddled with MASSIVE student debt and oh by the way the student loans are relentless in recovery and cannot be discharged in a bankruptcy.The government WANTS their money.I might go back to college someday just to graduate but I don't know.Probably years later when I retire.

All that potential money taken away that could have gone to their children's education fund,their retirement, their down payment on a new house, money for debt repayment taken away by scumbags who don't give two sh*ts about anyone but themselves.I do empathize with sellers and their plight and maybe its my responsibility to bring change.

I currently teach and have 16 more years to go before I qualify for full retirement. 

This forum cracks me up with all the experts spouting off how easy it is to retire by 30 by low balling everyone under the sun and crying about the hack GC who came in with a quote 20k under everyone else and blame them for all their woes. takes money to make money and you get what you pay for.

Seems right now you'd be better off renovating what you can buy at discount than building from ground up; but I'd have at least one big job in the hopper at all times.Disclaimer: This is not my retirement plan, when it gets this high I buy no more than $5 in tickets.

It will be rare to find one who understands Real Estate to the extent as many of the contributors here on BP.If you do meet with one, speak to a fee based advisor vs. commission based to reduce the risk of conflict of interest.Chances are you will be given a recommendation for insurance, mutual funds or some kind of managed money product in stocks & bonds in an allocated portfolio for retirement, education accounts if you have kids, etc.Remember that a Financial Advisor's isn't there to help you become wealthy.

I am retiring early and will pursue this full time.