I used to believe real estate was the golden ticket.
Buy a property. Rent it out. Collect money while you sleep. That’s what the YouTube guys said, right?
So I bought one.
Not a big one. Just a modest duplex on the outskirts of Toronto. I figured I’d sit back, let the tenants pay the mortgage, and watch my equity grow.
Turns out, the only thing that grew faster than the equity was my anxiety.
The first tenant was late on rent. Not once, but three months in a row.
The second one left without warning, and I walked into a fridge full of mold and a kitchen that smelled like they’d been storing dead squirrels.
And then the plumbing broke. Twice.
Don’t get me wrong — real estate can be powerful. But nobody talks about how much of it is actually work. And not just “fix-the-sink” work. It’s the mental load. The unexpected. The stuff you don’t see on spreadsheets.
I thought it would be passive.
But when you’re fielding 10 p.m. calls about leaky ceilings, it doesn’t feel very passive.
Eventually, I hired a property manager.
Best $150 a month I’ve ever spent.
And I learned something:
Passive income isn’t always passive in the beginning. Sometimes, it only becomes passive after you systemize it.
Looking back, I don’t regret buying that place. It taught me more than any course ever did.
But if I had to do it again, I’d go in differently — with more margin, more reserves, and way fewer expectations.