Even then, it's in a middle class neighborhood which should be more protected in hard times.

At acquisition, the in-pace apartment rents were ~30% below the market rate, and the expense ratio was at least 10% higher than it should have been.

I think that's a solid plan- sort of a middle ground between the risk of leveraging too much and not enough.

Quote from @Gabriel Rouse: Which coast has the best/ most investment opportunities and outlook Invest in the middle.

The experts are saying rates MAY drop middle of the year, but then that just stirs competition and potential rising prices.If you are looking to put low money down and you can live for free, why wouldn't an investor putting 20%-30% down snatch it up?

In the middle of those two extremes might be a small business with 3 years left on their lease, but they've made improvements to the property that aren't cheap to remove, such as perhaps a dental office (dentists might be pissed that I put them in the mid-risk category, but all the dentists going out of business in 2020-2021 taught us that American consumers apparently regard dental care as an optional and "luxury" spending item). 

The other part of me is worried about the liability of having drunk people on vacation driving a golf cart they don't own.Maybe there's a middle ground.

So we will have to look to finance industry on this front which as we know finance industry moves at a different pace, measured in quarters and years, not days and weeks. 

I think going with a smaller boutique family property company could be a good middle ground.

Secondly, GC's can generally get better pricing from suppliers, and unless you have a strong relationship with your subs, they may disappear for a higher paying job in the middle of your project.