It was mid-November and I noticed that I hadn't received any rent payments from one of my tenants for the third month in a row. After trying to work with them to figure out a plan to make it easier for them to continue paying rent, there was still no resolution. It was time to go through the one thing that all small time landlords hate, the eviction process.

Back in 2020, right in the middle of COVID, my partner, Lucas and I, purchased our first rental property, a triplex in Worcester, MA. We decided to do this with one goal in mind, to earn passive income.

We knew that we wanted to build up a portfolio of rental properties to eventually have the passive income from rents cover our living expenses, enabling us to retire early or at least become work optional.

One thing we quickly realized... the extra income was anything but passive. Owning small rentals and managing them yourself is like adding a second job to your already busy schedule.

For this reason, I urge you to quantify the value of your time and compare that to the value of doing annoying tasks like dealing with tenants and late night maintenance calls versus using your time to focus on high earning opportunities.

Passive investing allows you to get the best of both worlds, giving you all of the benefits of real estate ownership, without the burden of being a landlord

Here are 8 reasons why sales leaders choose to passively invest vs. actively invest:

1. Time Management

As a former sales leader in the financial industry, I realize the importance of managing your time effectively, especially when you rely on commissions to pay the bills. Active investing in rental properties demands a substantial time commitment, taking away from tasks that truly matter. From finding the right property and securing financing to dealing with tenant issues and ongoing maintenance, the responsibilities become endless. Not to mention, the issues that need immediate attention seem to happen at the absolute worst times.

For sales leaders whose schedules are packed with meetings, client calls and hours of prospecting, adding the burden of being a landlord is one not many want to take on. As a passive investor, you don't have to. With passive investments, you find a professional operator that you trust, who does this full-time, and simply invest your capital to become a partner alongside them, gaining equity in the property.

You get all the benefits every investor wants fre passive income and appreciation to the numerous tax benefits, all without having to deal with any landlord duties.

I have invested in over 500 apartment units as a passive investor and I have never received a call regarding a tenant issue or had to worry about going through the eviction process, which can take months.

2. Expertise and Experience

As an active investor, finding a deal, or many deals if you plan on building a large portfolio, requires hours of research to gain a deep understanding of the real estate market you're investing in, underwriting to make sure the property will be profitable, negotiating with the seller, securing financing, etc.

With passive investing, you just have to vet the operator to make sure they have the track record and experience to identify and operate a profitable deal. The time it takes to do this is only a couple of hours. These operators have years of experience in the industry and they understand the intricacies of market trends, property management and legal regulations to ensure your investment is in capable hands.

The process is really easy once you've found the right operator and usually looks like this: fill out a form, schedule a call, join their investor list, receive email updates on upcoming investment opportunities, review the deal and other investor materials, submit your commitment amount, fill out the necessary paperwork and wire your funds. That's is, you're now a part owner in a real estate deal.

3. Stress, Hassle and More Time

As I mentioned above, my partner and I started with smaller properties, first with a triplex, then a duplex and continued to scale from there. We didn't want to hire a property management company because it would just eat into our monthly profits and we hadn't scaled enough yet to justify the cost.

After two and a half years, we found that we were spending at least a few hours per property per week dealing with various things ranging from tenant issues to simple maintenance like mowing the lawn or shoveling snow. When reflecting on our goal, to create passive income to pay for our living expenses, we quickly realized that to get there, we'd need to almost 7x our current portfolio. Meaning this would eventually turn into another full time job.

I made the switch to passive investing for this very reason. After a passive investment closes, the only time that I spend on the property is reading through the updates from the operator each month, which takes only a few minutes, and then watch the passive income distributions be directly deposited into my back account.

4. Risk and Scalability

Another thing we realized pretty quickly after buying our first two deals was that it would be hard to continue scaling because after an acquisition, our capital was tied up in just a few properties. We'd have to save up for another down payment which can take a long time. Your risk also increases due to market-fluctuations or property specific issues that tend to impact a smaller portfolio more significantly.

Passive investing allows for diversification across multiple properties and markets, ensuring more stable returns over time. Also, the cost to acquire ownership in a property is significantly less than if you were to buy on your own in some cases and property-specific issues are already worked into the overall budget from the start, so no need to pay out of pocket if a major fix is needed.

5. Liability

As an active investor, when things go south (and they will), you are personally liable for the damages or payment of the debt you have on your properties. This not only puts you and your credit at risk, but also your other assets.

With passive investing, your liability is limited solely to the capital you invest. Your name is not tied to the loan, therefore, your personal assets and credit is never affected. In short, this means that if you invest $25,000, your entire liability is $25,000. Another perk of investing passively is that these assets are held in an LLC, further protecting you from any liability is things do go terribly wrong.

6. Financial Returns

Due to being a finance guy with a background in data analysis, I am always looking to see how to maximize returns and what drives the ROl with my investments. As an active investor in smaller properties (1-4 units), you have no control over the value you of your investment. The value of these assets is tied to the current state of the real estate market and is entirely speculative.

As a passive investor, you're investing in commercial assets (5+ units). These valuations are quite literally in your control as they are valued based on their profitability, similar to a business. Therefore, with a strong value-add plan, the operator can increase the income and lower expenses with efficient management, in turn boosting profits. This is how passive investors are consistently earning upwards of 20%+ annually, far outperforming smaller properties and other asset classes.

Here is an example of a past deal we did with our investors to break it down for you.

7. Vacancy Risk

When actively investing, you run the risk of your properties becoming a liability. For example, if you own a triplex and one of the tenants leaves, you immediately lose 33% of your income. This kills your profits and oftentimes forces you to pay out of pocket to cover the rest of the mortgage until you can re-lease the unit. Your investment quickly goes from a cash flowing asset to bleeding money-

When investing passively, you are typically investing in larger buildings. For example let's say you invest in a 100 unit property. On average the break even occupancy is about 60-70% occupied, meaning that in order for the operator to start losing money, about 40 units would have to be vacant.

This is highly unlikely if you are working with an experienced operator.

8. Taxes and Paperwork

If you've ever bought a home or a rental property yourself, you know that the paperwork involved is never ending. From initial purchasing documents to bookkeeping and legal documents, it becomes a lot to keep track of. On top of that, when it comes time to pay Uncle Sam, you have to rely on your CPA to properly depreciate your property each year in order for you to get the most out of your investment.

As a passive investor, you typically have to sign one or two pieces of paper (usually e-sign) making it quick and seamless to invest in a property. Then, at the end of the year when tax season is approaching, you will receive a Schedule K-1 report for your taxes which clearly outlines your income and losses.

Whenever you're ready, there are 4 ways we can help you:

1.    Schedule A 1:1 Call With Me: If you are interested in learning more about how to passively invest in some of the best opportunities, let's connect. Schedule a call on my calendar and we can discuss potential opportunities that align with your specific goals.

2.    The Passive Investors Guide: Download your free copy of our investor's guide. Inside you'll learn how to turn your active income into passive income with strategic real estate investments based on your specific risk tolerance. This comprehensive guide will teach you how our investor's are earning ~ 20%+ annual returns with hands-off, multifamily real estate investments.

3.    Investing w/ Your 401k/IRA: Join hundreds of other investors who invest in lucrative real estate investments with their old 401k/IRA's. Our webinar teaches you exactly how to invest in cash-flowing real estate and stop settling for average returns that typical retirement accounts offer. Go ahead and watch the replay for actionable tips on how investors are earning 16-20%+.

4.   Money Monday's Newsletter: Check out our weekly newsletter - Money Monday's, where we share practical tips to guide you on your wealth-building journey in real estate every Monday Morning.