$2000 in legal costs later the owner of lot one settled and I got all the rent he collected on my storage units for 8 months of my ownership, and I got control of my units. 

Crowdfunding gives more control and transparency and may be easier to track how the individual properties are performing.

If I could take control of the home, pay the debt, and then sell the home for a good return, then it would be worth it.

House Moves Forward on Vacation Rental Bill The effort to bring short-term rentals under state control could help ensure that advertised rentals on sites like Airbnb are licensed and collect and remit taxes.TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – For the first time, online platforms such as Airbnb would have to collect and remit taxes on vacation rental properties, ensure that only properly licensed rentals are advertised and provide the state with specific information about the rentals, under a proposal headed to the House floor.In exchange, short-term rental regulation would be “pre-empted” to the state, largely preventing local governments from regulating vacation rentals.

Stock market days like today are just reminders for why we all invest (and diversify) with real estate...strong returns, less volatility, more control.

And if you're not wanting to be a land lord any more then a move to something like a DST (Delaware statutory trust) or Tenant In Common (TIC) give you an alternative that provides well within the same returns as your index fund these days while still maintaining the tax deferral of the 1031.

How will you properly control the draws?

You have no way to control the fluctuations of the market.

@Hjalmar De Boer We have a very strong long term rental market in the area are wanting a second home in the area for vacationing and retirement destinations, but they may not be completely ready to go forward with a purchase.

As a Canadian that invests in Canadian real estate, there are definitely opportunities in our very large country.  6 of the 10 provinces are landlord friendly, while 4 (including Ontario) have rent control in place.