Mine doesn't fix the house ever. And if she does, it's always with the cheapest bidder.

There's a couple of ways to make bank. First is to start out rich enough to skip the loan and buy for cash. This is what companies like Blackrock do.

Another is to look out for things like tax auctions to get a big discount. Also you could be friends with a lender and get sweetheart rates on the mortgages.

Also, needless to say, it helps to never do any maintenance and to choose tenants that are unlikely to be able to fight back against you.

I think the idea is that even if you only break even after mortgage and expenses, you gain equity in the house and eventually own the house which you then have at your disposal. You can continue to rent it out without the expense of the mortgage, or sell it and cash in.

The landlord I know that makes a shit ton of money inherited the homes from their parents.

you make money if you don't have a mortgage.

I was able to refinance my home at 2.8% during COVID. Now I'm paying less than $2k for a 2200 sqft home. I've got neighbors who are paying $4-6k for equivalent housing.

My mom, who bought her home in the 90s, has the mortgage fully paid off and only owes real estate taxes (around $12k annually) on a 5000 sqft property.

A lot of landlords simply inherited their homes or had enough credit to buy cheap units during the dips.

They also do a shit job of maintenance. But it can't be overstated how much of this property is either owned on extremely low interest credit or fully paid off.

My landlord makes 48k a year off where I'm living. I can easily see how he's making money.