Some investors that I knew in California ended up under water with their properties and ESP's (employee stock plan) at the same time, and they lost their shirts.

make sense they can control their employees environment..

Make it a policy not to rent to relatives, friends, workers or employees. 

You can do 100% of your commerce over the Internet and employees can work efficiently from home.  

No outstanding loans or debt, my credit is strong (750+) and I make roughly 3.3k~ a month after taxes, maximizing 401k, employee stock purchase, health insurance, etc.

Because we needed insurance, we started paying ourselves a minimal salary as employees so we can write it off.

Thanks for the input @Dave Foster. 

Many of them, such as labs and healthcare will continue to require employees to physically commute into the office.

@Armand P.Either an IRA or Solo 401(k) can be self-directed and invested into real estate (and much more).Only someone who is self-employed with no full time employees can establish a Solo 401(k). 

If you are self-employed with no employees, you can set up a Solo 401k through a 401k provider which allows for investing in real estate.