I know that in the UK at least a lot of landlords get 'buy to let' mortgages, where you only pay off the interest on the loan, which obviously makes the payment

I know that in the UK at least a lot of landlords get 'buy to let' mortgages, where you only pay off the interest on the loan, which obviously makes the payments (and rent) cheaper than a normal mortgage. This does though rely on the house price remaining the same as when you bought in order to pay the full mortgage off at some point.