<prompt> Human: My parents have been looking into purchasing an investment property for recently, in hopes of renting it out to a family, or having my brother or I rent it out and eventually buy it from them.Weve checked out some places and all the numbers that theyve crunched and research theyve done on the internet makes it all seem worthwhile. However, my Dad talked to his accountant yesterday and from what I gather the guy said that its a horrible idea to buy an investment property and that the only people that can actually afford to do it are those who have more money than they know what to do with... Is this true?Thanks. Edit: Not sure about exact details, but here are a few if it helps:Theyre looking at houses around 300-400k, could put about 20 down. Have great credit.  <response>: Full disclosure - Im probably more conservative with my money and investments, although I do own some rental property.That said...Theyre looking at houses around 300-400k, could put about 80-90k down. Have great credit.I would advise looking at starter-homes in the area, hoping to target those who want a house but dont have the moneydownpayment to get into one. Here in my neck of the woods, thats the 100-200k range. Although, in the interest of disclosure, one of my best tenants is in my old house that is in the 400k range... but hes also my employee and will probably buy it from me soon once he learns about his upcoming promotion.The other reason I recommend that is you will want as few fixed expenses each month as possible. If you dont have a tenant, thats a drain each month. Mortgages can make an investment a true burden because of this. If all you have to cover are taxes and insurance, its easier to go the six months between tenants than if youre also covering a mortgage. It also lets you be more competitive - if other landlords need to cover their mortgages but you dont, you can undercut them. Profit is profit. 