As long as there are a ton less savvy or under-educated investors (be it stocks, bonds, RE etc), the markets will be overly tilted to GPs that never really are at risk to lose any capital, even in a crap deal.

This is a great question, and I admit I hadn't really thought of real estate like this, even though people frequently talk about appropriate strategies for stocks and bonds as you age.

Sadly, 10K in CO wouldn't get me very far if I had 10K to invest in RE so I'd probably seek out different markets where the 10k has more teeth.

Then divide that against your required down payment for both, and then compare resulting ROI to the stock market/bonds.

Save your money.I like Bond For Deed in LA, when buying, avoid banks.See http://ackelandassociates.com/bond-for-deed/

Too bad we can't float bonds and show one thing and pay taxes using a different system like the big boys can!

I cut my teeth in my legal career litigating major insurance companies for claims they refused to fulfill - ultimately insurance is a company and they structure their policies in a way that they can try and avoid big claims. 

@Bruce Woodruff laid out the playbook to a tee. The

Would  you want your Dentist to learn how to pull teeth by reading from the internet and taking notes? 

Assets that may be used to secure funds include automobiles, artwork, collectibles, real estate, or financial assets, such as savings accounts, certificates of deposit, stocks, bonds, and 401(k) accounts."