Cleveland basements are the heart of all home systems.No, I get that and you should know I've been doing this kind of rehabs for 15+ years here in Milwaukee, which has a similar hounsing stock - mostly 1920s and 1950s inventory.

Capital in a 401K or real estate(Whether it is in a retirement account or in your personal name) act as an investment whether you expect to benefit / use towards your retirement.Whether you have capital in one or the other depends on what can get you the best return and will have more money for you at the time of retirement.I personally make more money in real estate than I would in the stock market so I choose to have more of my money in real estate.

As a note: The HOA dictates that rentals must be long term rentals, no STR.Given the current housing market conditions here in Denver - home prices down, supply increasing it seems unlikely that the market will get better in the next year or two to sell (Seems like the opposite of the stock proverb of sell high, buy low). 

If you have a well located, well stocked/appointed/designed property, in a good market and you buy at the right price you can afford to pay a PM, make modest cashflow, and enjoy having the property use and get the advantages via tax, principal pay down, and appreciation.That is also one reason why I launched my limited service offering at 10% to help achieve cash flow goals for my clients.

While confirmation still lies ahead, markets are already reacting to the prospect of less Fed accommodation, with stocks and Treasuries both lower and the dollar higher as investors price a more disciplined policy regime.

That “risk‑on” tone is lifting both U.S. stocks and Treasuries—economic optimism is once again trumping geopolitical noise.

I get 10-15% return in stock market each year so I don't really want to purchase with cash.

For now, policy remains restrictive, but the tone suggests the bar for additional easing may depend less on labor market deterioration and more on clearer progress toward the inflation target.Markets are mostly unchanged, but we are seeing slightly higher short-term interest rates – stocks are bouncing around a bit as well.

If you're looking for that "Goldilocks" zone - walkable but still family-friendly with solid SFH stock - definitely spend some time in East Falls or Mt.

They are historically highly correlated to the broader stock market, so you won't really get much of a diversification play, but you will get a little.But, how I read your comments makes it sound like investing in a REIT will, in some way, prepare you for being active in real estate.