The end of the mom-and-pop investor?

[Paul Smythe]

The title is dramatic, but I do wonder if your typical mom-and-pop that's just starting out is going to be able to build a legitimate (cashflowing) rental portfolio in the current market with large institutional buyers snapping up everything in sight with cash at higher prices than ever.

The 1% rule is all but gone where I'm looking. The only real way to find deals is off-market leads, but there's a lot of competition there too, especially if you're not carrying out a massive marketing campaign.

$150k for a house is cheap but $1500/month in rent is on the expensive side (in my market).

I'm curious where we go from here. It's hard to compete with cash buyers with lower return requirements. If you've been in the game for a bit, I'm sure this is great because your portfolio is looking very healthy. Not so much if you're starting out.