Maintenance expenses of the house-3

No snow removal for you either if snow falls because you are sharing the building area with other owners. In fact in order to invest in a real estate and earn income on it and especially if it is far away, I would suggest that you invest in an apartment. It is easier and most convenient and less hassle to handle than a whole house since you have to take care of the snow removal and other things that come with owning one where you are not the resident of the house. After being a landlord of a house for almost 12 years, I have come to realize that in order to invest in a property with the minimal amount of work being done, it is feasible to own an apartment which you can rent it out and pay like a fees to building for maintaining for you like snow and garbage removal and sometimes even utilities. So as with the first thing about the real estate is location, location and location so if you have the stomach to be a landlord, try to buy an apartment in a building with all the above amenities so that you have less maintenance to take care of and more to earn your investment. Although you might be tempted to buy a house as the house and all the things above and below is yours (at least in the U.S), but the maintenance will get to you sooner or later if you happen to make it a rental property which have its share of laws to maintain it. Save all the grief and go with the apartment as the advantages is more than the stand alone house.