Looking for Passive Investment education

[Kavita B.]

Looking for advice from you experts.

I had (as of end of July) a joint ownership investment property which went south due to bad tenants, lack of time and knowledge from our side to manage the property effectively. We had the property for 7 years at the end of which we could not take it no more and decided to sell.  

With that in our past, i dont think i have the energy or time to put into managing another investment property.

However, that being said, i do want to educate my self and look at other options out there. 

I would like to educate myself on Passive Investing. Can you point me to resources  that will show me how this works?

since i have no idea how this works, i have several questions:

What is the minimum i need to invest, 

what is it that i need to look for while making a choice, 

how do i find opportunities

what are the pitfalls and traps i need to look for etc..

Who determines and how is the interest rate set?

So far my understanding is that, instead of getting a mortgage / loan from a bank, people take money from passive investors for certain interest rate, and return the money just like they would with a bank. Is that correct? 

If so, how do i guarantee that my money is secure, what happens if the person i lent the money to defaults / what protection would i have?

Appreciate any advice in this direction..