You have zero control over the stock market, whereas when you do private lending, you have significantly higher control and contractually guaranteed return on your money.

Fully stocked kitchen.

Napoleon Hill's masterpiece takes a dive into the power of the mind and the principles that lead to success.

This is based on friday, the stock/ DJIA was down 700 points+ since we can asssume this will continue to just new listings in real estate etc, we are doomed so who cares.....

But if I sell it and put that money in the stock market and earn let’s say 8% I would make $40,000 on the same money.  

If so you could run the numbers on taking a loan on the zero-debt property to pay off the other.I'm still unclear on the goals - you've brought a lot of other things into the equation (e.g. paying of high interest debt, STR as personal vacation home, stocks/dividends, etc.). 

If you don't understand the basic principles of construction, market standards (i.e. average cost per labor hour, cost per sqft for flooring, cost per sqft for hang/finish drywall) then you may find yourself getting taken advantage of without even knowing it.

Diversification Beyond the Stock Market: Real estate provides tangible, real-world value that helps hedge against market volatility—a crucial feature when building a resilient retirement portfolio.

The reality is though... your only going to be making about $500k on the outstanding principle.

I bet if you look at this, you will see you are beating the stock market.