Baking a CakeYou can read up on what a cake is, what goes in a cake and go stock up on a bunch of ingredients.  

The only “control” an investor has when he invests in REITS, (or any stocks for that matter), mutual funds, real estate syndications, whether debt or equity, or minority shares in a business, is whether to keep or to sell his investment, and often not even that.  

You might make more money in a good interest account or dividend paying stocks, without the hassles of tenants. 

Quote from @Ryan Smith: Hi everyone,With what's happening in the stock and securities market, now is the best time for many passive investors. 

I know you can’t predict this but I try to get quality purchases which helps.

Investing outside of real estate: What other investment opportunities (stocks, REITs, or businesses) might make more sense in such a market?

It happens to be one of the easier businesses to run, but if you think of it like investing in stocks you're not going to do well.

Problem is only "RE pros" get to do it.There are 3 income classifications in the US - Active, Portfolio, and PassiveActive income is income derived from your job, or normal trade or business.Portfolio income is derived from bank instruments - stocks, bonds, etc.Passive income is income earned from investments.Active losses can wipe out both passive and portfolio income, but it doesn't work the other way around.Portfolio (capital) losses are limited to $3,000 annually.Passive losses can only be offset by passive gains.Real estate rental income by its nature is deemed passive per IRC Sec 469One way to get around it is to become a pro - spend more than 750 hours or 1/2 your time in real estate.But most folks aren't real estate pros.

There will always be some uncontrollable variables because you’re dealing with both the human element with renters and houses are basically living creatures themselves and it’s not always possible to predict when big expenses will arise.

If the cab driver is scared you should be too.Cash flow is not a static number you can't predict with any accuracy what it will be.