<prompt> Human: I am inheriting a lump sum of cash. The money will be released in the next few months. No credit card debt, owe about 3k in student loans, will pay that off first with inheritance, etc. 10k to emergency, will start a Roth IRA, etc. Next up, I rent. I have a smoking deal of paying 600 a month for a awesome 1bd apartment in a cool neighborhood in Portland OR. That includes utilities. I take home just shy of 2,000 a month with minimal bills. I have a good budget and am able to stick to it each month.With the money I intend to pay off my 3500 in debt, start a ROTH IRA, put enough cash in my ING savings account to have it be 10k, then after that is all done use the majority of the remainder to buy a home. Real estate in Portland is either bottomed out or damn close. It is a perfect time to buy and get a whole lotta house for only 100k. I am a modest person and dont like big new houses. A little 2bd 1000sq ft house is perfect for me. But heres the twist... I want to go back to school. The program I wish to attend would require me to quit my job. Im fine with taking this on. But, because of this money I have the chance to pay cash for my education. Im thinking about paying cash for a modest home, renting it out, and using that income to pay my rent each month, pay the insurance, pay the taxes. I would pretty much break even on housingutility costs each month. But with that home giving me income that takes the burden of rent off my plate each month as I go to school. I can put enough away to use for upkeep of the home no problem.My thinking is that I want to own a home eventually. Now actually. But if I buy now, I will have a monthly bill of 400 for taxesinsurance. And then paying utilities by myself would put me pretty much right where I was as a renter. This would not save me any money while going to school. If I rent the property out, I would break even each month outside upkeep and emergencies. If I wait the 4-6 years till Im done with school real estate is going to go up. I can get a lot more bang for my buck right now while real estate is cheap. It makes a lot more sense to me to let the house sit, give me income, then hopefully in ten years the economy is done crapping the bed and the house has gone up in value significantly. It does seem a little counter intuitive and if I was to continue at my job and not go to school it seems like a no brainer I would pay cash and go live in the home. But with school it would be such a huge relief to have a home paid for, that produced income, paid my rent, and would be an asset that can not be taken away. And of course if my landlord sells the house Im in now I can always move into the rental. What say you? Anyone ever been in a similar spot? Buy a duplex what?  <response>: Wait, you are going to buy a house in cash converting all of your liquid money into illiquid land, but not live in it or use a mortgage as a tax-shield? And your ideal plan is to break even off the rent? And the market might move 1-2 a year as far as equity is concerned? Wouldnt you just get to pocket the exact same profit by converting the inheritance into a 5 year or 7 year CD with, say 1.2 to 2.5 growth and getting the exact same return for less hassle, then buying a house when you will be in a tax bracket that makes a mortgage sensible? 