My grandparents live off "income generating real estate", and my father is on his way (it's his nest egg for his retirement).
They were not "flipping" properties; rather, they bought good properties when the market wasn't inflated, and rented them, maintaining them and keeping the tentants happy.
It does take some work, not as much as being employed of course, but you have to be on top of things and it takes some mindshare.
There's a real estate bubble here in Uruguay because property rentals pay above-average returns - currently way above average, but market forces are pushing them down as they should, rent is starting to drop as more apartments enter the market.
I'm sorry, I didn't want to refute your point, but I do believe that saying that "Income generating real estate is a recipe to hand your money over to scamsters" is too harsh and partially incorrect.
My father goes to his rental property maybe twice per year, so he most definitely isn't "there". He does have to keep it in mind, pay for repairs, and make some phone calls.
I believe that making money of rent is "earning every penny" because he put all his effort before in creating the capital, but, to make a comparison, he makes the same for his maybe one day a month (plus the initial capital) than I do for a month of work.
So I'd describe it as an "asset that makes money for you without you having to be there".
They were not "flipping" properties; rather, they bought good properties when the market wasn't inflated, and rented them, maintaining them and keeping the tentants happy.
It does take some work, not as much as being employed of course, but you have to be on top of things and it takes some mindshare.
There's a real estate bubble here in Uruguay because property rentals pay above-average returns - currently way above average, but market forces are pushing them down as they should, rent is starting to drop as more apartments enter the market.