My long term goal is not to manage a rental property empire, but to own a few properties to diversify my investment portfolio away from only stocks, bonds, etc.Are there any glaring mistakes in the below?

We've just had a massive stormwater management program as part of the federal water consent decree, and all around us (though not WashPo) is a federal Opportunity Zone (great tax savings similar to a 1031 exchange but without some of the restrictions; Google it).Happy to discuss anytime.

Our perspective is that most investors seem to be sitting on the sidelines waiting for the markets to stabilize, have their focus on the stock market, or are too busy to consider investing right now.

Not to mention the insane taxes we will pay, roughly 37.5% on the net profit.Also thinking about a 1031 exchange to defer the taxes.

As we know, we can sell a stock or bond with a mouse click for immediate cash, that’s far from the case with real estate where it can take months longer.Whether the spread of return between 10 year T-Bonds and Class A, B or C properties was enough can only be identified in a case by case basis.

That applies to 1031 exchanges.

When they give you a price, I think they look at comps in the same ZIP, roughly same SqFt and then a price.I don't think they adjust for age, current property condition, does it have a good view, high/low crime, functional obsolescence, etc - The stuff an appraiser (and I'd hope a good BOV) would do.I guess the only parallel would be quants and stock picking.

Anyone have recommendations for gathering general economic data, things like stock performance in past years, job growth in different places, REIT or syndication performance.

@Calvin T.The OP was asking about a self-directed Solo 401(k), with an intention to be able to use the plan to invest in real estate.A Fidelity Solo 401(k) is going to be limited to investing in conventional assets such as stocks and funds. 

The only slight variance I can see is if you order blank check stock and use Quickbooks bill pay feature that you can print your own checks with the entity name to make payments.