Tyler, yes dividend index investing is passive, but I haven't seen any with much yield have you? Single-family houses (as different from more complicated properties) are fairly simple, especially with good property management. Finding one is probably the hard part (similar to a good stock to buy!). It can take quite a bit of effort to evaluate hundreds of properties, run the numbers, visit the most promising ones, make offers, and negotiate to get a great property at a good price. Of course things can go wrong, especially if your property management company is not good, you will need to replace them. Repairs come up. Roofs, foundations, etc. So you need insurance and reserves, but as long as you know what you are doing, it's not bad at all. And since you can't trade them easily, you are forced to invest like Buffett, further improving results. Buy and hold forever, generating a nice monthly dividend payment in the form of positive cash flow.