As for timing, I really don't see the benefit of waiting unless her actively managed funds are vastly outperforming the great index. 

In USA, stocks outperformed real estate over the last 100+ years, before taxes, but across different countries, it tends to be mixed.

It took me two years to realize that this duplex was a crazy good the investment and was out performing the stock market with a lot less risk.  

Knowing the long term gain in rentals will out perform flips.  

Also research show that publicly traded REIT’s have outperformed historically the general stock market and also private real estate over the last 50ish years.

On a PSF basis they out perform newer two story homes with garages.

Most owners won't be willing to jump through these hoops, so you might position your property to outperform your competitors. 

Will you be able to outperform your $80k in the market that's 100% passive?  

.; nationwide, prices rose 5.1%.In December, a National Association of Realtors study listed the Springs as one of the 10 housing markets that will outperform the rest of the nation over the next three to five years.Also that month, a forecast by Realtor.com, the California-based online real estate service, ranked the city as No. 7 among the nation’s Top 10 housing markets for 2020.That shortage of homes for sale — an issue many cities face — has combined with the furious demand to help propel housing costs.

My concern with REITs is that I don't know how to reliably pick those that will outperform both the market and direct real estate investments.