Your project is quite interesting, and balancing risk with reward is key.

There is no good investments, or bad investments.You as an investor need to decide what investing strategy works for you, define your criteria, understand if your criteria is possible in the market you are looking in, understand the risks/rewards of your critera, and then execute the purchase.While some agents are heavily knowledgeable about investments, most have zero clue.

I think for the average person that is not going full-time into real estate, investing or property management, having a paid off asset is probably more favorable to them than continuing to own more properties especially if they find their current work to be rewarding, or they like what they area doing outside of Real Estate. 

We pride ourselves in specializing in all things section 8 and we have found housing section 8 tenants and Veterans in Detroit rental properties to be very lucrative with the government guaranteed rent and very rewarding at the same time in knowing we provided and managed excellent affordable housing to Veterans and families in desperate, uncomfortable and sometimes even dire situations.

However as many of you know in business the bigger the risk the bigger the reward.

It might feel out of your comfort zone, but the potential rewards can be worth it if you're willing to do the work.

While investing out of state can be more challenging since you need to put together a local team, it also offers many rewards and can make it easier for new investors to get started!

Jim invested in a small apartment complex, and within two years, not only did the property's value appreciate significantly, but the rental income also provided a steady cash flow.Real estate offers a level of control and tangible value that can be really rewarding.

But if “by doing” he means investing without first having the knowledge to KNOW the risks, EVALUATE the risks (and potential rewards) and to TAKE ACTION to reduce the risks then the cost of this learn by doing education is probably going to be significantly more expensive than a degree in real estate from MIT, let alone reading the\ree or four texts on your own.  

If you want to be a lender, you need to consider the risk/reward.