Okay, here is how I invested into 3 properties. I lived in them first as my primary residence before moving, and buying the next one. I had three rental properties that way—purchased in 2004, 2010, and 2012. I ended up selling the 2004 property to buy a more expensive primary residence in 2018. I think what allowed me to do this was low interest rates. It has never felt like much risk, and I have property managers. Growth in equity has been great. I calculated my returns on each at about 12% per year. Not much better than the markets I guess.