have you personally ever met an old fart who said, "you know, I spent my whole life putting money into the markets, did'nt have a pension, didn't pay down my mortgage, but all that money I put in the markets built up real nice because I held on during the bad years, and now I have a comfortable retirement" ....I have never met such a person myself.
I am just saying, if you are not working toward a pension, and corporate pensions arn't too reliable these days, I think you are on very thin ice thinking you are going to get 8% or more yield out of the market, when you are going to need it. The required action is downsizing the house, getting the mortgage paid off by age 40, then a heroic effort to save, at rates few can currently conceive of.
For the very young, I beg them to buy student housing and rent out rooms. (In my twenties, I had 2 houses near each other, and lived in a dank corner of the basement to increase yield). You also meet tons of members of the opposite sex in that business...as a bonus!
For young couples, I beg them to buy triplexes and live in one unit, pay down the mortgage...sure thing...sure thing. Owner in the store. Move on to a 6 plex and so on. Minimize leverage. Slow but sure. And in this day and age, if you are not in healthcare, join the military or CIA or something to get that basic security, and experiment on the side with money.