Pair the deal with a cash flowing instrument like a tbill, mortgage note, or some other form of fixed income to help yield too.

my SS deal is one of my participation deals were I provide the capital to the operator via a debt instrument then take a participation as part of the note agreement. 

A smart seller will have note, deed of trust/mortgage/etc. prepared by a local real estate attorney (yes, he/she may work with/at the title company) and be sure the security instrument is properly recorded in the land records. 

i have up to 50k dry powder that i'm currently evaluating various ST instruments to invest in. 

Your feedback would be instrumental in shaping the development of this platform.

Put the capital in a low-risk instrument (CD, t-bill) that will preserve as much capital as possible even while making your mandatory (5%?)

The US Federal Reserve Note (a debt instrument - not a currency) can collapse under it's own weight due to all the debt that cannot be repaid.

Problem is only "RE pros" get to do it.There are 3 income classifications in the US - Active, Portfolio, and PassiveActive income is income derived from your job, or normal trade or business.Portfolio income is derived from bank instruments - stocks, bonds, etc.Passive income is income earned from investments.Active losses can wipe out both passive and portfolio income, but it doesn't work the other way around.Portfolio (capital) losses are limited to $3,000 annually.Passive losses can only be offset by passive gains.Real estate rental income by its nature is deemed passive per IRC Sec 469One way to get around it is to become a pro - spend more than 750 hours or 1/2 your time in real estate.But most folks aren't real estate pros.

LLC are favorite protection instruments of course and ideally per property and state specific.

Sherman, and Denison are growing a lot due to the Texas Instrument chip plant being built there.