And here in PA, the new buying/renting season starts the first day the temp hits 60 degrees, sometime in FEB or MAR. 

If they do not qualify because of poor credit or income issues compared to being self employed etc there are differences - but typically people don’t qualify due to poor credit and people will seller finance to these borrowers thinking they woke up at a holiday inn and got a finance degree when in reality they repeat their past mistakesRemember the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result

It's 20 degrees where I am at.

This takes care of collections and filters tenants to a large degree.  

I've been finishing up my Financial Planning degree at the University of Alabama.

I think comparing to the two-- syndications vs index funds-- is too difficult because of the nature of the specific RE under the syndication versus the broad economy(global and domestic) the index funds capture.

(I'm sure both the average consumer AND the average entrepreneur would disagree, of course, but hey - y'all're the guys with the fancy, big money jobs and the college degrees - what do I know ...)

You can defer to some degree.2. 

We are all overly optimist about our own knowledge, skills, and abilities (not a lot of people will say they are below average investors, even when they know nothing) AND we overestimate the degree of control we have and underestimate the role chance plays in our future.2.

It's like getting a degree in college.