Are you interested in learning how to start investing in rental property for beginners? In this updated interview, Paula Pant — who owned seven rental properties in her 30s — shares practical advice, strategies, and realistic expectations for new investors.
Paula is the host of the Afford Anything podcast and founder of the Afford Anything platform, built around the idea that you can afford anything, but not everything. Her work has been featured widely across major media outlets, and she has been investing in real estate for over a decade. Paula has also invested out of state for several years, growing a portfolio that includes multiple buy-and-hold rental properties.
In this interview, Paula answers common questions about rental investing, including whether rental property can be profitable, how to evaluate deals, how much profit to expect, and how to manage properties from afar. She also explains how to avoid common mistakes, how to screen tenants, and how to get started as a beginner.
How to start investing in rental property for beginners
1. Who is Paula Pant and what does she do?
Paula hosts the Afford Anything podcast, which has millions of downloads, and runs a website, newsletter, and YouTube channel centered on financial independence and intentional decision-making. Her flagship course, Your First Rental Property, focuses on teaching a practical, step-by-step approach to buying and managing rental real estate as part of a long-term wealth plan.
2. What appeals to Paula about rental real estate?
Paula appreciates that rental real estate is a hybrid between a business and an investment. Unlike index funds, where returns are driven entirely by market forces, rental properties allow the owner to influence outcomes. You can improve profitability by optimizing operations, reducing costs, and raising rents when justified. Real estate also offers a form of passive income: after upfront work, a well-run rental can deliver steady income for years. Paula emphasizes that “passive income” often requires considerable initial effort and systems to become truly hands-off.
3. How did Paula start and afford her first rental properties?
Paula’s first investment was a triplex that she bought with a partner and lived in one unit while renting out the others. Rental income from the additional units and shared roommates covered the housing costs, allowing them to save aggressively for subsequent purchases. She notes she owned seven rental units before buying a personal home, illustrating the difference between a personal residence, which costs money each month, and an investment property, which puts money in your pocket.
4. Is owning rental property profitable?
It can be, but profitability depends on knowledge, preparation, and systems. Just as careless stock trading can lead to losses, inexperienced landlords who lack processes for screening tenants, budgeting for vacancies and repairs, and managing operations will often struggle. Profitable investors treat real estate like a business: they plan, build teams, and prepare contingencies.
5. How do you know if a rental property is a good investment?
Finding a good rental is about fit and alignment with your goals. Some properties require less hands-on management and deliver consistent cash flow; others offer stronger appreciation or value-add potential but require more work. Paula recommends doing a self-assessment to identify your financial and life goals, then searching for properties that match your desired balance of cash flow, risk, and growth.
6. How much profit should you expect from a rental property?
Returns should reflect risk: lower-risk properties in stable neighborhoods generally yield lower returns, while riskier properties needing repairs or in higher-turnover areas should offer higher potential returns to justify the risk. Specific targets vary by market, but Paula looks for lower-risk rentals to beat conservative bonds and higher-risk deals to outperform stock index returns.
7. How do you manage rentals from another state?
Paula compares out-of-state investing to owning a second restaurant: you hire a local manager to handle day-to-day operations and you operate at a strategic level. Out-of-state investing forces you to create systems, checklists, and a team — property managers, handypersons, and contractors — so you can manage at a 30,000-foot level rather than solving every problem personally. When repairs or move-outs occur, the local manager coordinates the work and tenant turnover.
8. How do you handle problematic tenants?
Prevention through robust screening is crucial. Paula requires background checks, credit checks, income verification, and references from prior landlords and employers. While she has avoided major tenant disasters thanks to screening and clear processes, she recounts two challenges: inheriting a tenant who left a unit in poor condition, and a tenant who illegally sublet and caused damage. Her approach is to rely on a strong lease, consistent procedures, documentation, and local laws to resolve issues professionally.
9. Is the current real estate market too hot to enter?
Paula argues that long-term investors should avoid market timing. Buying a rental starts the wealth-creation clock immediately through principal payoff, appreciation, cash flow, and tax depreciation. She also contrasts today’s fundamentals with the 2006 bubble: lending standards are stricter, and today’s supply shortage (exacerbated by pandemic-related construction slowdowns) supports price increases driven by demand rather than speculative lending. While timing and local market conditions matter, the broader point is that rental investing is a long-term play.
10. What sacrifices did Paula make to build her portfolio?
Paula says she sacrificed time more than money early on. She wasted hours searching for deals inefficiently, attempted DIY repairs without valuing her own time, and spent weekends on real estate instead of on personal health and relationships. Over time she became more efficient by developing repeatable systems and relying on a team, which is why she created a course to share the lessons she learned the hard way.
11. How should a beginner get started in real estate investing?
Paula recommends choosing one niche and one strategy. Your niche could be single-family homes, small multifamily (up to four units), commercial property, etc. The strategy could be buy-and-hold, flipping, or lending. As a beginner, Paula chose residential buy-and-hold because financing is more accessible and it supports creating long-term passive income. After deciding your niche and strategy, research thoroughly and learn proven methods for finding, analyzing, financing, and managing deals.
12. What training does Paula offer?
Paula’s flagship course, Your First Rental Property, is designed to provide a complete framework for buying and running profitable rentals. The course includes real-world checklists, spreadsheets, and processes, ongoing coaching, live office hours, teaching assistants, community forums, study halls, and investor calls. The curriculum covers finding deals, analysis, financing, renovation, negotiation, team building, and tenant management, with materials and support intended to help students move from hesitation to confident action.
Whether you’re thinking about your first rental or building a larger portfolio, Paula’s core message is to treat rental property investing like a business: set clear goals, build systems, hire the right team, and think long term. With preparation and the right approach, rental real estate can be a durable component of a diversified wealth-building plan.
Are you interested in learning how to start investing in rental property for beginners?