[fintstone]

I am still happily a landlord although all of my homes are ones that I have lived I myself (except one that was my parents after I was an adult). Great locations in good neighborhoods/schools. They are not painless, but the only ones that have been truly difficult are ones I have managed and maintained myself. I have the homes as close to perfect as I can before renting it out and then it just needs maintenance...although about every ten years or so, most need some major work/update.

Paid managers take care of most of the issues and their fees are tax write-offs against income. I have had bad tenants that required eviction, and they were. It has never been difficult (except I have always been too kind where I personally manage the property and will allow a tenant to sell me on their sob story for far too long (resulting in larger losses than necessary). The only real problem was during COVID when the government intruded and would not allow eviction of deadbeats. I cannot imagine having property where government intrudes on pricing and eviction.

I also cannot imagine selling most (long term rentals in service for decades) as the basis for capital gains for these is zero (or very low). The taxes would be murder. If not for this tax issue, under current condition (high interest rates), I personally cannot see how buying a single-family property to rent is a wise investment...and even a T-Bill returns over 5% and mortgages for investment homes is quite a bit higher (along with much higher taxes and insurance). If more rentals are good for a locality, state or nation, the current environment provided by various government entities sure does not encourage small investors to go this route.