If the idea of having outstanding debt is mentally draining it's great that you could easily pay it off and just give yourself that peace of mind. 

It seems the mentality is someone needs to pay more money, so it might as well be real estate investors.

He's been in the hotel industry his whole life but was let go from his job back in May and is struggling both financially and mentally as a result.The problem is just like everyone else in his position, he wasn't prepared. 

Lending/consumer mentality is not back to its old subprime ways, but its starting to push in that direction.  

The same mentality can be applied here. 

However I believe when you have a small Mf and the tenants are able to have their own yards, it breaks them away from the apartment mentality.

History is filled with failures/bankruptcies from those that had the same mentality.

If you care about your physical and mental health, want to travel or enjoy life without so much stress, then you should pass these properties off to a Property Manager and start enjoying that money while you still can.Brandon Turner is a pretty driven guy.

What are the chances of a 17 or even 20 yr old kid with the mentality of saving and invest his estimated college expenses and put it into work?

If they truly believed that real estate was a way for you to create wealth, it would be mentally painful if THEY didn't follow your path.