"real estate solely for the passive income"

Now that is an oxymoron in my opinion. Real estate even though on the surface seems passive (rent it out while you sit on a beach) is far from that. There will be periodic maintenance, dealing with renters and god forbid you get bad ones, big item expenses once in a while (you bought a 15 year old house and even though the last owner did upgrades, you suddenly have to replace the roof), rent collection (this one can be painful too).

Investing in real estate is not always a bad thing depending on your capacity and the location/market of course. But please be aware that becoming a landlord is not passive at all even though you will not be working at the property on a daily basis.