The sooner you start, the sooner you will feel more comfortable with the idea of investing in a property. 

Everyone has different comfort levels with their money, you should do what makes you comfortable.  

You are the one investing your money, and you should feel comfortable with the property before committing the non-refundable EMD.

If you're comfortable with a long-term horizon, both real estate and stocks can be excellent vehicles for wealth growth.Active vs.

It all depends what your comfortable with.

They took a lot of risks that I wouldn't do, like liquidating much of their savings to buy property or used a lot more leverage than I would be comfortable with.

If no construction lender can get comfortable with you as the builder (aka principal, sponsor) regardless of you hiring a well-qualified GC, then maybe the solution is to give some piece of the equity to another builder/principal who would oversee the GC, and whom has the track record to satisfy the lender.

It is important to be comfortable with "worst case scenarios" whenever you are investing - period. 

I like it and would be interested in continuing it in the dining room but can’t seem to find it anywhere?

DSCR 1 ratio will get you best terms depending on your credit and LTV for many lenders who specialize in DSCR loan products which in many cases isn't banks or credit unions as they don't feel as comfortable with the products as conventional loan products.