{"id":23053,"date":"2023-10-23T01:27:54","date_gmt":"2023-10-23T08:27:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/?p=23053"},"modified":"2026-03-24T00:10:30","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T07:10:30","slug":"buyer-how-to-invest-in-rental-property","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-how-to-invest-in-rental-property\/","title":{"rendered":"Looking to be a Landlord? Here’s How to Invest in Rental Property"},"content":{"rendered":"

DISCLAIMER: This article is meant for educational purposes only and is not intended to be construed as financial, tax, or legal advice. HomeLight always encourages you to reach out to an advisor regarding your own situation.<\/em><\/p>\n

Have you ever dreamed of owning multiple properties and enjoying a steady stream of income as a landlord? For many homeowners, once they buy their first house, it\u2019s not uncommon to think about continuing to invest in real estate<\/a>, creating a portfolio of properties that generate an ongoing passive income.<\/p>\n

But let\u2019s face it: Investing in rental property is a lot easier said than done. How do you know if it\u2019s really for you, and what do you need to do to prepare yourself for this big financial step?<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\n \"homelight\n <\/div>\n \n

Investing in Real Estate? Consult With a Top Agent<\/h3>\n

Hire an investor-friendly real estate agent who can help you get access to off-market properties at a discount and assess potential rental income based on market trends. HomeLight can connect you with investment property specialists at no cost.<\/p>\n \n

\n Get Started<\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

We researched some of the most popular ways to invest in rental property and spoke to experienced real estate agents<\/a> about what type of property to buy, expenses you might not know about, and both the positives and negatives of being a landlord.<\/p>\n

While these kinds of investments can be high-risk, especially if you don\u2019t know what you\u2019re doing, a qualified real estate professional<\/a> will help you understand the rental market and show you how to get the best return on your investment<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We talked to experienced real estate agents about how to invest in rental property, including the type of property, expenses, and the pros and cons.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":178,"featured_media":38720,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[192,620,626],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23053","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-for-buyers","category-buy-house","category-real-estate-investing"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nLooking to be a Landlord? 6 Ways to Invest in Rental Property<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"We talked to experienced real estate agents about how to invest in rental property, including property types, expenses, and pros and cons.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-how-to-invest-in-rental-property\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Looking to be a Landlord? Here's How to Invest in Rental Property\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"We talked to experienced real estate agents about how to invest in rental property, including property types, expenses, and pros and cons.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-how-to-invest-in-rental-property\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"HomeLight Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gohomelight\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-10-23T08:27:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-24T07:10:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/HomeLight-Featured-Image-2.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"564\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jody Ellis\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@winter_girls_ak\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@gohomelight\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jody Ellis\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"11 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Looking to be a Landlord? 6 Ways to Invest in Rental Property","description":"We talked to experienced real estate agents about how to invest in rental property, including property types, expenses, and pros and cons.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-how-to-invest-in-rental-property\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Looking to be a Landlord? Here's How to Invest in Rental Property","og_description":"We talked to experienced real estate agents about how to invest in rental property, including property types, expenses, and pros and cons.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-how-to-invest-in-rental-property\/","og_site_name":"HomeLight Blog","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gohomelight\/","article_published_time":"2023-10-23T08:27:54+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-03-24T07:10:30+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":564,"url":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/HomeLight-Featured-Image-2.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Jody Ellis","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@winter_girls_ak","twitter_site":"@gohomelight","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jody Ellis","Est. reading time":"11 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":["Article","BlogPosting"],"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-how-to-invest-in-rental-property\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-how-to-invest-in-rental-property\/"},"author":{"name":"Jody Ellis","@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/c1a99e5dec19ca29a458ebdd485bd075"},"headline":"Looking to be a Landlord? Here’s How to Invest in Rental Property","datePublished":"2023-10-23T08:27:54+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-24T07:10:30+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-how-to-invest-in-rental-property\/"},"wordCount":228,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-how-to-invest-in-rental-property\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/HomeLight-Featured-Image-2.png","articleSection":["Buyers","Get Started","Real Estate as Investment"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-how-to-invest-in-rental-property\/","url":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-how-to-invest-in-rental-property\/","name":"Looking to be a Landlord? 6 Ways to Invest in Rental Property","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-how-to-invest-in-rental-property\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-how-to-invest-in-rental-property\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/HomeLight-Featured-Image-2.png","datePublished":"2023-10-23T08:27:54+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-24T07:10:30+00:00","description":"We talked to experienced real estate agents about how to invest in rental property, including property types, expenses, and pros and cons.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-how-to-invest-in-rental-property\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-how-to-invest-in-rental-property\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-how-to-invest-in-rental-property\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/HomeLight-Featured-Image-2.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/HomeLight-Featured-Image-2.png","width":1000,"height":564,"caption":"Header Image Source: (Avi Werde \/ Unsplash)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-how-to-invest-in-rental-property\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Looking to be a Landlord? Here’s How to Invest in Rental Property"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/","name":"HomeLight Blog","description":"Real Estate Advice from America's Top Agents","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"HomeLight","url":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/logo-hr-color.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/logo-hr-color.png","width":1348,"height":262,"caption":"HomeLight"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gohomelight\/","https:\/\/x.com\/gohomelight","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/homelight\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCimugR9XF17-OZ7B9fNnxWw","https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/HomeLight"],"description":"Everything you need to know to sell your house faster and for more money. Articles, guides, and advice from top agents all over the U.S.","email":"support@homelight.com","telephone":"(888) 688-0350","legalName":"HomeLight","foundingDate":"2012-01-01","numberOfEmployees":{"@type":"QuantitativeValue","minValue":"201","maxValue":"500"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/c1a99e5dec19ca29a458ebdd485bd075","name":"Jody Ellis","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/284e38f2b19f640984e12ff050672706c67dc60173c56e7a6f06f42f3200c08d?s=96&d=blank&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/284e38f2b19f640984e12ff050672706c67dc60173c56e7a6f06f42f3200c08d?s=96&d=blank&r=g","caption":"Jody Ellis"},"description":"Jody Ellis is a freelance writer with more than 15 years of experience in the writing industry. Her work includes copywriting and content marketing for real estate professionals, stories covering real estate trends and housing markets, and varied articles on decor and design. In addition to buying and selling several homes herself, she's also owned and managed rental properties, and previously worked in mortgage lending.","sameAs":["https:\/\/x.com\/winter_girls_ak"],"url":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/author\/jody-ellis\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23053","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/178"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23053"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23053\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38720"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23053"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23053"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23053"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}