You also leave out the fact that the government has a duty to others who don't live in the area, but who have to pay taxes (coercion) for the firefighting and clean up, and the first responders, to mitigate their harms.

Heck, you could possibly JV with one of em during those early months/years of getting going to best mitigate the unknown mistakes, experience leveraging. 

However, a lot of concerns can be mitigated with looking at their past rental behavior in a lot of different settings.

That would be the best way to mitigate risk and go from there. 

How are you mitigating my downside exposure?

A duplex could be a great compromise that lets you start small, build equity, and learn the ropes while mitigating some of the financial risks.

You’ll make more than leaving it vacant and you’ll mitigate the risks of leaving it vacant or having to deal with tenants.

Risk can be mitigated by having cash reserves.

However, a lot of concerns can be mitigated with looking at their past rental behavior in a lot of different settings.

However, a lot of concerns can be mitigated with looking at their past rental behavior in a lot of different settings.