What most people find helpful is narrowing the buy box by neighborhood since conditions shift quickly block to block, and keeping an eye on seller distress, days on market, and rental demand to spot deals with real upside.

I asked my accountant and they recommended doing a "Drop and Swap 1031 exchange" but they also informed me that they have never been involved in one. 

Thinking that a 2 year lease will keep tenants longer is a little blue eyed. 

CamerasCameras provide an eye on all angles of the store.

I’d recommend getting involved in some local real estate meetups to build your buyers list.

If leverage is used, UDFI may also apply.You also need to avoid prohibited transactions, no personal guarantees, no providing services, and no material participation.Before proceeding, it’s important to evaluate deal frequency, structure (assignment vs. double close), financing, and your level of involvement, since proper setup upfront is critical.

For those that want to be active, I 100% agree that owning real estate should provide better returns than a REIT because you're being active versus passive and actively involved in an outcome should provide a better return.

Of course, every owner's situation is unique and factors like the legal entity involved, purchase date, adequate passive income that can be offset with the cost segregation study, etc., will need to be considered.

Happy to walk through a real example if you want a second set of eyes.

This involves extensive dirt grading work and retaining walls (with railings sometimes) which together are very expensive.