There is another alternative...the excess capital from leveraged real estate does not need to be only (1) reinvested in more properties or (2) used to pay down debt.  

I bought one last year  actually 4 homes that all were bulldozed because they were so so so bad and all had been lived in and owned free and clear by the owners and I cut them checks in excess of 250k EACH... on their departure.. they all moved for different reasons... 

To be successful at real estate investing you need a large amount of income coming in NOW so you can live off of it & invest the excess. 

But my debt is backed by a solid income and excessive cash reserves that would make @Joe Villeneuve tear his hair out.

Well they make their money selling moisture barriers and whatever else.

People don't understand that excessive claims can get you cancelled.

If you have 200 units, then I guess you'd probably almost never have sudden excesses (as well as good years), if those units are scattered around the city and aren't all in the same flood plain or whatever. 

That sounds excessive to me.The last older couple I knew had a pretty simple estate and their attorney advised them to use a will and probate it.

To answer one of your questions, one of the largest risks of turnkey investment is that the property cannot be rented at the level in the marketing proforma's, or that the costs run well in excess of those predicted. 

The dividend rate of most whole life companies is well in excess of the Guaranteed Rate.