Hello Pedro, I am not an expert on your particular market, but that cost to build sounds low for the kind of high end/custom build you are describing.

What kind of investing are you looking to get into? 

You are also able to make sure that your tenants are taking care of your property and check for additional occupants, pets etc.

Our tenant left 5 days before his lease was up and did NOT participate in a walk out inspection even though I'd sent him a move out check list and told him to set up an inspection 2 days before 4/30/2024.  

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One day you may get a check in the mail for the full amount.

That loan will have some bank hand-holding that people dislike (annual reporting requirements for the first few years, all rent checks must get deposited into an account at that specific bank so they can see it coming in and have an automatic "early warning signal" if they drop off, etc), but hey in their case I'd say it wasn't unwarranted, their only track record is that of mismanaging after all. 

What kind of lending terms are you looking for?

I would definitely recommend checking out House Hacking by Craig Curelop (which is the best way for most to get into real estate investing) and The Millionaire Real Estate Investor by Gary Keller which is an all time classic. 

There are different kinds of funds, including dividend-paying real estate investment funds, which are similar to mutual funds.