No, they are not 100% passive, but NOTHING you do in a REIT, stocks, Bitcoin, or MLM can come close to comparing. 

Ponts can be built into your rate as well so compare notes with more than one lender/bank.   

Since they can't do each property individually, they use comparable sales to make broad generalizations to determine percent changes.

You need comparable sales BEFORE you spend $175 or the appraisal will come low to your expectations.

Talk to both and compare.  

A HYSA is a type of savings account that offers higher interest compared to traditional savings accounts!

Then compare that with your normal 30-year fixed.

Quote from @Danae Pitcher: How is everyone seeing the holiday bookings this year as compared to last year?  

There are a lot of variables to consider so it's impossible to say if investing in one of those other markets would have been "better".However, I think you could make a stronger case that you have been (or would be) more successful with your real estate investing in Chicago compared to other markets.

I would say it depends on how well the chunk of cash in your 401k is performing compared to the asset you are acquiring.