The biggest problem with any of this is you really need to be into it, or it becomes a huge PITA, you start to slack off or never fully engage. 90% of the result comes from the last 10% of effort.

That means if you're doing it solo, you have to be all in on your days off, and probably your SO's days off as well. Answering phone calls from angry tenants, dealing with retail contractors, insurance companies, banks, government paperwork, lawyers, etc. Fallen tree on the roof, tenant twists an ankle on the steps, those sorts of things absorb a huge amount of time. It's going to take some real effort until get to be where it's on autopilot, or earning enough where you can shunt it off to a management company (or start your own, which is another set of headaches). It is a LONG term play.

If you're really into it, it's not really work. If you're not, it's one big headache after another, and you're probably better sticking to the index funds, and flying on days off if you want.