Seasoned investors by nature eliminate emotions as part of their analysis's, so your first sentence obviously not referring to seasoned investors.  

There will always be things outside your control that can derail any business (health, relationships, politics, natural disaster, etc).More important is to find a good mentor that will teach you how to develop leads.

Find a good realtor buy a 3 or 4 unit in a decent area and you should be alright, from there you naturally start building a network and can grow it.Are you in London or Chicago?

We haven't quite got enough for accredited investor status, so syndications are (largely) out, though the short-term goal would to establish net worth at $1M (and maximize cash flow, naturally).

I became interested in investing in real estate is fascination from touring properties and imagining how to transform spaces, and build lives within them, how to increase property values through a few well chosen upgrades, tapping into the dream of having to earn a living doing what I naturally love to help others make smart real estate decisions.

So if youre ditching the 50% rule and go with 40% and 32%, are you trying to supplement the loss of cash flow by appreciation?

But because price to earnings was so steep (even Pre-COVID), real estate actually came to have a natural edge over the more liquid securities markets.

The city is great, but what I always come back to is the nature and the weather.

It is imply the nature of some properties.  

The downside is SE tax.If it is merely an investment in nature, and does not rise to the level of a trade or business, it is ordinary, portfolio income.