So....despite what everyone tells you on reddit, you won't get rich doing it.

Best case scenario, you make a month's rent in profit after covering all your expenses, note, etc. And that is a smooth year, where you have a perfect tenant that doesn't cause issues for all 12 months, need nothing that falls outside your capital budget, and the one or two minor things that pop up you handle yourself.

Other years you may blead money when unplanned stuff goes bad well before it was supposed to, and always at the worst possible time. One bad tenant (can wipe out years of profit in just a couple of months). One mistep can get your ass sued off.

You have to constantly remind yourself that you are in it for the long haul, and that is the equity, and someone else fronting a bunch of the costs allowing you to acquire that property.

Our tenants were all awesome, and we made it through the pandemic unscathed, but i know a bunch of landlords who took a bath on it, and others who re-evaluated their risk and got out\are getting out of it. On its good days its a part time job of a few hours a week (and this is just with 3 properties and good tenants). On its bad days, its hell on earth and you will question as to if its really worth it constantly.

But the short of it is:

1. Don't not expect to make money year over year on it. You will most likely run in the red for a few years before you get to break even, and even then dip into the red (ignoring equity) from time to time. Make sure you have the capital to handle that. Its not just you losing a house or tanking your credit if you fuck up, there is real liability and potentially criminality on the line.
2. A bank isn't going to write you a loan and consider rental value if you aren't occupying at least a portion of the place, and even then, its only one factor. Most won't touch you at a good rate unless you have either demonstrated a cash flow as a landlord, or have other substantial assets.
3. If you aren't even basic handy, just don't do it. Tradesfolks know they have you by the balls even more so than if it was your own house on most stuff if you can't do it yourself. Being able to say, swap a hot water heater on your own on a holiday weekend is the difference of a grand or two and not having to put up your tenant in a hotel. That leaky faucet, noisy toilet, funny lightswitch? All a couple hundred bucks a pop if you have to turn to a pro. And if you are a landlord and not doing it yourself, you are turning to a pro for liability reasons, not "jim down the street".