It depends on the city, which is why I ask. You definitely won't get this in Detroit. In Los Angeles, out of the three people I know who own rental properties and have told me the financials, two of them have rent coming in short of the mortgage payments (by 10-15%), never mind the maintenance, and are banking on the value of the property appreciating. With something that is as dependent on sale timing as real estate (I know people who scored deals in 2009, at great expense to the sellers), that doesn't seem like a good choice to put a large percentage of your capital in.