My dad is pretty involved with real estate ... it's one of those things in life that people think they can just 'do.' Like buy a house, throw up some paint, and 'flip it.' Just FYI ... you can't.
Unless you've personally remodeled homes, acted as a landlord, and know a good deal about plumbing, electric, gas, paint, roofing, ETC, just don't do it. It won't justify your time, and it will just be a mess. I spent the past summer remodeling a rental property for my dad, and even after seriously redoing a house almost on my own (hired guys to do some roofing - paid him half bc I worked with him, some drywall - shouldn't have hired him, he sucked and I had to fix a lot of his BS, and a guy to do some gas work), I don't know if I'll ever go into real estate. I honestly don't recommend it.
The only thing I haven't tried so far is apartments. My grandfather used to own a complex, and has strongly advised me against it, but I dunno.