making profits in rental property

[Kate Szeto]

Have a dumb question to all the real estate investors who rent out their home/apartments AND are making profits from your property: what are your success factor(s)?

I have a rental apartment in New York that can get good rental money, but with the high expenses of brokers, property managers, contractors, fixing things here and there, providing furniture and supplies to tenants, building's maintenance work required by local law, building's renovation cost shared by all owners, and real estate tax, I found it very hard to break even (let alone make profits) after five years of renting out my property. I have a small loan on the property.

So I am curious to know how you all seasoned investors make money from rental properties - do you hire property managers or manage the property on your own? How do you keep all your expenses low? There are so many real estate investors out there so this business DOES make money. Maybe I just don't know the trick of the trade. Would be really helpful to hear from other's successes stories.