@Timothy Hero
When the music stops, the investor with cash is able to buy at a discount. This is one of the primary advantages of some slight diversification in your portfolio. I always own a smaller percentage of counter-cyclical investments (bonds & precious metals, mostly). The rationale for that is precisely so I can sell those into a bad market and achieve some liquidity. Then you buy at a discount, and repeat. The income on bonds is poor and precious metals, nonexistent. But, at a critical moment, it's very nice to have protective assets that are going up in value and sell them off while everyone else is panicking.
I do think rental investors need to check their assumptions about the markets. If you are renting out amenity-rich condos (as an extreme example), get ready for tenants to downgrade in a recession. This is why class B- & C workforce housing is good from a cyclicality perspective. It's simple, and not super far from the floor in terms of what a home can rent for.
Local work markets are probably the biggest risk. Major employer shuts down and the whole game changes, even (and maybe especially) for people with workforce housing. An important hedge (but probably a decision that we all should have made years ago) is to go to markets with some employer diversity.
Beyond that, make sure you're not over-leveraged and hanging by a thread. You need to have enough cash to weather a few rough months if some re-positioning is necessary. There is nothing better for a buyer (like me) than a seller with few options and a sense of urgency. For your sake, don't be that seller.
