I help manage some rental units for my family and it's definitely not passive income. It's not full time work, but something requires your attention regularly.

I help manage some rental units for my family and it's definitely not passive income. It's not full time work, but something requires your attention regularly. There are plenty of pitfalls where you can find yourself losing money instead of making a profit. For example, if turning your unit over between tenants ends up being costly and time consuming you will still need to pay taxes and maybe a mortgage in the interim. It's not a bad way to earn an income, but it really requires a lot of capitol to get started and earn enough to be worth it. Once you have enough units to sustain yourself you'll invest a decent amount of time keeping the whole operation going. Edit: Some people are pointing out you can use a property manager as a middle man to keep your involvement to a minimum. This is true but they will cut into your profits, which may or may not work for you depending on your margins. But it might make sense to go this route if you have minimal time or many units to manage.