But it wasn't until a pivotal moment that I realized the importance of taking control of my financial future.

Some sponsors are mitigating this risk by raising their own pref tranches from their own investor base, thereby giving them control over the terms.In a strong up market it’s likely that rent growth and strong demand will drive up income, thus driving up value, which supports the ability to take out the pref.  

You have control over it but it will be a lot more work.

There are clearly downsides - the investments are even less liquid than active real estate, they are completely out of your control and they are long term in nature.  

Nice area of the city but the buyer will likely be inheriting rent controlled tenants.

In CA currently only MF properties are rent controlled.  

This is a common issue, but having stricter cost control measures or a contingency buffer in place could help on future projects.

Also it would be interesting to control for attributes such as 1) condo vs. fee simple and 2) modest vs. midrange vs. high priced homes.

Ultimately YOU need to be the one in control so YOU need to understand what's going on more and you need your agent to assist you with that.

Maybe as a construction manager, warranty guy, quality control or something.