Being a landlord requires time and money and energy, and it's not something you just dive into without looking carefully. It's certainly not something you shoul

Being a landlord requires time and money and energy, and it's not something you just dive into without looking carefully. It's certainly not something you should jump into if you can only put 20% down. If you are not willing/able to be on call every day, then you need to hire a management company and pay them a large cut of the rent each month. There may also be HOA dues and there are certainly taxes. There could be expensive maintenance, etc. Each thing takes a slice out of your rental income. On top of all that, the renter may get angry at the world and trash the place causing tens of thousands of dollars of damage, or they may up and leave because they can no longer afford the place. Worse, they may stick around and stop paying rent until you forcibly evict them after months of no rental income. You may be suddenly forced to spend money updating the place to comply with some new law. I'm all for making things easier, but don't fool yourself into thinking you're making free money, or even making money at all for sure.