For me, I think I would have been much better off investing in truly passive vehicles and spending the time on my career or on earning more.3.

Which is a better vehicle for real-estate investing?

But they're all essentially similar vehicles.  

BTW--I have ended up in legal fights with borrowers (one to be precise) that ended up without any loss of principal, but ended up not collecting on all interest due under the note.

expense deductionSo, like another poster mentioned, I knew that I needed an additional source of income to fund my REI pursuits, as the returns that I am getting on my 401K now is pretty good (one of my parents retired 4 years ago with only her 401K mutual fund investments (drawing 4% of total) and one rental property (600/mo cash flow, condo paid off), and believe me, life is good for her, so there is no "doom and gloom" if you have only a 401K as a retirement vehicle).Although many may disagree, I personally would advise against dropping your 401K investment to save money for REI. 

That's a no-no for rentals precisely for this reason.

.), your investment vehicle (REI, stocks, business ownership, etc.), and your ability to execute (can you follow your objective and succeed). 

Retail sales will increase, especially for vehicles, home-improvement goods, furniture, and appliances, said CBRE.One of every six multifamily units in the area—up to 100,000 apartments—were flooded.

Seek some professional guidance with an expert who can take time to understand your situation and help you structure investment vehicle that would be best for your long term goals. 

Everyone's situation is different and obviously there will be some irresponsible homeowners that will spend their insurance money on a new vehicle and wonder why they will not have enough to cover the 60k repair.