Your biggest opportunity, IMHO, is to focus on the educational aspects of investing, including different real estate types, advantages and disadvantages of each, as well as paper (notes) and other instruments for cash flow.

°When reviewing a written instrument, courts must look to what the parties thought they were getting—the intent should be gathered from the written language.

I understand that using a Land Contract in Kentucky (a judicial foreclosure state) is not advantageous at all for the seller due to a legal determination from the late '70's...apparently:  a Land Contract is essentially equivalent to a mortgage instrument thereby giving the buyer "equitable interest" in the property once any payments are made.  

Except for mortgages covering agricultural lands or for mortgages covering single or two-family dwellings owned by or held in trust for natural persons owning or holding such dwelling as their residence, the mortgagor may agree in the mortgage instrument to a shorter period of redemption than 12 months or may wholly waive the period of redemption."

Generally, the recorded instrument that places the lien for the cross is in first position, so other liens will have to be subordinated to it.

We're talking about a deed of trust, which is the standard mortgage instrument in CA.Putting lenders on title gives them ownership rights.

You could also explore fixed income mutual funds or ETFs, but these may lose principal.For the balance, consider that 10-12 years is a long enough time horizon that fixed income instruments - bonds, CDs, or debt funds - are subject to inflation risk.

(g) This instrument contains the entire agreement of the Partners with respect to the subject matterhereof, and the terms and conditions thereof may not be further modified except by a writing signedby all the Partners.

This is not available to them in a straight rental situation.Just keep in mind that these instruments fail frequently because of the inability of the end buyer to perform.  

If the loan is secured by a security instrument, the power of sale clauses would be in conflict with the deeds.