It could be considered a magic trick that will have the audience gasping in disbelief: turning one of your child’s college expenses into (drumroll, please)…a profit!

Setting the stage for this trick will take some doing. Consider the magician to be the parent of a high school age child in Eagle River, Alaska. This should be someone who subscribes to the overall philosophy of regarding every potential catastrophe as nothing more than a well-disguised opportunity.

When this magician reads that college tuition and fees are now $22,000-$30,000 per year, and that the average cost of room and board in 2013-2014 will range from $9,500 at a 4-year public college to $10,830 at a private school, he doesn’t quake in terror. Instead, he thinks, “opportunity!”

After all, this is someone who sees a lemon and thinks “lemonade,” so when he considers sending a son or daughter off to college, he thinks, “what a terrific Alaska Real Estate investment opportunity!”

Believe it or not, that’s what some parent-magicians have done—although, for sure, it’s a strategy that takes the right props: a combination of institution, neighborhood, child and available capital—plus the willingness to do the homework every good real estate investment takes. With all of them in place, it’s more than possible to actually incubate a long-term gain from an ever-more-expensive college foray.

Buying an investment property in Eagle River Real Estate that will house your child plus a select crew of roommates can do more than ensure that they have a safe and comfortable place to concentrate on their studies. The calculation is almost as straightforward as any other rental opportunity: for kids who will live away from home, over a four year period, average accommodations will run between $36,000-$42,000. Aside from the offspring’s undying gratitude, that normally comes as a straight loss. If an off-campus residence is acquired as a real estate investment, that same outlay could (presto! chango!) turn into a substantial deposit on a rental property that the family owns.

You don’t have to be Harry Houdini to investigate the benefits any Alaska Real Estate investment can bring—nor one that could magically appear if your high schooler is accepted to an out-of-town college.

The possibility of a real estate investment should always be a card up your sleeve when you think about building your retirement portfolio.