They get a higher return since they are covering housing cost, have the $250k per spouse primary residence deduction in gains, is a savings account, higher leverage position, lower interest rate possible, will pay more premium for location, etc.House might be overpriced for REITs but not for home owners.  

I know I'm getting the tax benefits of depreciation, the minimal positive cashflow, and the appreciation on the property, but It's pretty much a long term play of slowly raising rents annually to increase cashflow, which will eventually get basically reset when my loan goes P+I in 10 years.

I wanted to spark a conversation about a topic that’s been gaining traction in our industry: the balance between realtor-led showings and self-guided tours for properties.As landlords, we all want to maximize engagement and find the right tenants as quickly as possible.

When investing in high cash-flow markets, I always recommend working with an investor friendly agent so you're able to gain the right insight on the different areas and the risks involved.

The seller's LLC pays capital gains tax and depreciation recapture, while the buyer's LLC uses the purchase price as the new cost basis.

However, longer-term bonds (1-5+ years) are subject to interest rate volatility:If rates rise, bond values drop, potentially leading to negative net returns.If rates fall, bonds appreciate, but gains are capped by their fixed coupon rates.While Treasuries provide stability, they offer limited upside and carry hidden risks for medium- to long-term maturities.Why Real Estate Is a Stronger Option in Today’s MarketMultifamily real estate, particularly value-add properties, presents an asymmetric risk-reward profile that Treasuries simply cannot match.

You do get benefits with a PM. 

There is no current tax on rental income and capital gains.

I used to cold call, skip trace, send mailers, and don't get me wrong you will get success from it like James above, however as you gain experience you will realize you need deals faster, easier, cheaper, and with more "meat on the bones" and in order to have that you need constant deals flowing through your eco system and that's hard to do with mailers, cold calls, VA's and skip tracing etc.

And I agree that it can work in gaining leads.