The realistic, real world goal on the first one should be to educate yourself and not lose money.

How does someone get comfortable that they're placing  money with someone reputable and that the target returns are realistic? 

Your best bet is to get with the sellers and draw up a contract with a quick but realistic closing date..

i'm not saying that's not a good option - there are other benefits to real estate, such as depreciation and appreciation - but again, let's be realistic about how long it takes to recoup the cash

It's important to understand the local market, navigate landlord-tenant laws, and have realistic expectations about cash flow.

Knowing your financial standing will guide you in making realistic investment decisions.Explore various real estate investment strategies such as house hacking, buy and hold, or fix-and-flip.

I am looking for interest rates starting with a 5.X% and the delayed satisfaction could be up to 5 years, but I think 3 years is probably most realistic.

Most realistic answer for common avg joe investor 

Realistically, I believe that the tax deductions are the most valuable asset when it comes to buy and holds.

Or worse yet you don't have a lender and find out it foreclosed because you didn't pay them $75 once.I would just be honest with yourself about being realistic about life happening and forgetting about it and make a redemption decision based on that.