Buying house to rent out for retirement

[Jordan Patten]

My wife and I have been looking into buying a new construction home with the idea of renting it out...paying down the mortgage with the rent and using the rental income or sell the home in 25-30 years as part of our retirement income.

We narrowed down to a growing area in Florida where we can buy a new construction and make about 1 percent a month on the rent. After paying mortgage/insurance/taxes have around $200-300 extra a month. We plan on building the extra money up for expenses in the future for the rental property and paying the mortgage off a few years faster.

It looks like a HELOC on our current home (paid off) would be our best option for down payment. We do have the cash for 20 percent down on a rental property though if we go that way.

I want to be a good landlord. I had bad and good experiences with landlords when I was younger before I was able to buy my own house.

I'm a little concerned about income taxes every year and finding good tenants. Any advice on that or in general with someone just getting started?

Also, is it good practice to hire a management company and STILL be slightly involved with the tenant as a landlord with fixing minor things, being available sometimes with issues, helping choose repair company as issues arise or is it better to just let management company deal with everything and make all decisions?

Thanks in advance!