@Dominic Emory Maintaining your money's momentum is a challenge in the current market.Properties are not increasing in value by double digit percentages right now.So, it is a challenge to pull your funds back out of a property purchase.You'll have to be picky about the deals you pursue to pull it off.House-Hacking, living in a property whil improving & renting it, is one of the best strategies to get started.The more work a property needs => the better the price you should get!

Have some real estate, own stocks/ETFs/mutual funds, own some gold etc.

It is a lot of work to set up and maintain even with a PM.

Real estate and stocks are very different; see below.StocksThe investment strategy with stocks (bonds, CDs, mutual funds, etc.) is to accumulate sufficient capital to enable monthly withdrawals that sustain your current standard of living throughout retirement.

Because the Property Class dictates the Class of the tenant pool that the property will attract.The Tenant Class greatly impacts rental income stability and property maintenance/damage by tenants.Both Property Class and Tenant Class will affect what type of contractors, handymen and property management companies you should target and be willing to deal with a property.The Property Class will also impact the maintenance & renovations you do to,, “Maintain to the Neighborhood”.Why is that important?

It means maintaining your standard of living throughout your lifetime.

Because the Property Class dictates the Class of the tenant pool that the property will attract.The Tenant Class greatly impacts rental income stability and property maintenance/damage by tenants.Both Property Class and Tenant Class will affect what type of contractors, handymen and property management companies you should target and be willing to deal with a property.The Property Class will also impact the maintenance & renovations you do to,, “Maintain to the Neighborhood”.Why is that important?

The guy that turns on and off the lights in the P&G lobby has a couple million in stock.

You’re asking the classic “real estate vs. stocks” question — and the math really depends on how you look at it. 

If you have 600k real estate exposure already and are 300-500k net worth, you should build up 50-100k of liquidity somewhere else like stocks/bonds, then consider coming back to real estate.To be clear, right now is a terrible time to invest, anyone saying anything else is a salesman or someone who has experience that you don't have.