Also, the property is still exposed to the financial situation so be aware of bankruptcy. 

Although a trust does not offer any liability protection like a LLC, at least your names are not publicly recorded on the county's records and exposed to your borrower. 

With a tenants in common structure, you are personally exposed to liability if the landlord gets sued for whatever reason. 

However, partnering can cover your blind spots, expose you to less risks and prevent you from losing capital, and can be much easier to handle if responsibilities are delegated properly. 

I still think about using my degree and going towards the engineering route, but I have a feeling being in the real estate realm would expose me to more future opportunities to invest. 

Are they doing everything they can to expose properties to the widest possible market?

@Jitendra Mandalia: I see some potential issues with what you want to do:1) You firend, who has a real estate license, may be exposing their broker to liability by managing for you.

If you want to see how this works in greater detail, I am unable to provide a direct link to it, but go to YouTube and search for the term "vacation management companies exposed." 

However, during the inspections, many hidden issues were revealed: structural issues found in the crawlspace, sink drainage issue due to debris and tree roots, mold in the attic, cable feeds with exposed wires, dips in roof, torn roof vent boot, front porch needs shimming, and a handful of other minor issues.

Through that lens, I would much prefer to have capital exposed to CRE than public equities, particularly to recession resistant real estate.