Mike,We are obviously on different ends of the political spectrum and I'd love to debate these supposed individual rights that are being taken from you.

There is a wide spectrum of things that investors are looking for.

I've been investing for 15 years, own 75 units with a mix of student rentals, commercial offices and a handful of lower income properties with gross rents in the 120k/month range.It's been my experience that "passive income" in real estate is at best on a spectrum and at worst a complete lie.I have in-house management for most of my portfolio and outsource management to 3rd parties for some of my other properties.

I refuse to assume a rising market in my analyses, it just seems irresponsible/risky to me, but others are at a different point on the risk/reward spectrum and that's fine too - everyone has to find their own comfort spot.Angel, there are a lot of good ideas in this thread including private lending and getting some rental properties, or (maybe the best one yet) just waiting until you find something that does meet your criteria.Another idea could include spending a little bit on educating yourself in any areas of real estate that interest you.

That being said, on the other end of the spectrum I would also recommend reading Rich Dad Poor Dad for info on how liabilities (truck debt) work against your investing and how cash flowing assets will help pay off your debts. 

Typical investment down payment is 20-25% versus owner-occupant 3-5% down payment.Not sure where you are on the spectrum?

There is profit to be made all across that spectrum. 

And some are on the other end of the spectrum and want to just hand the keys to the kingdom over to a turnkey management company and just collect the money (they pay a premium for this however). 

. :-) I've got a good handle on the financial end of the spectrum.

If your property is already at the high end of the rent spectrum for that property class in that area then spending money won't help.