answer:I own a rental property, and there are good things and bad things about it. The bad mostly leans toward maintenance issues and crappy tenants. (I’m likely serving an eviction notice on mine in a couple of days.) When the tenants are good, it’s a nice steady income, and I imagine your parents would buy properties that are in better condition (newer) than the one I own, so maintenance may not be as troublesome for them. Since I live right next door to my rental, and we are fairly handy, I don’t need a property manager. Your parents might, and that would really eat into the income. Over the long haul, housing always seems to increase in value. Since the pros generally outweigh the cons, if I could afford to, I’d be taking advantage of the depressed housing market and snapping up additional properties right now.