BiggerPockets

I've never done a flip but intend to one day. I would think landlording is more difficult due to a lot more things involved (neigbors, tenants, etc.

Why limit yourself to just one? I would suggest doing both. Being a landlord can be tough, but you get monthly income and can always hire a property management company to handle the day to day issues. Plus, you can always sell the property in the future. Flipping is also great because you can make a (sometimes large) profit in a short amount of time.

Or you can do a "hybrid" type of investing and combine both:

http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2012/12/16/hybrid-real-estate-investing/

Reading above discussions, I guess I belong to neither of the two categories. Firstly, I am not flipping as I don't have an exit plan for each purchase. Secondly, I invest in resort condos, which are managed by the hotels. I am completely hand off. I don't deal with tenants directly (in fact, they are called the guests in hotel business). I feel I am just an investor rather than a landlord. Besides, my cash flow is very low, although the revenue exceeds 20%. Thus my investment goal is to have appreciation. The best I closed this year (in April) has about 40% appreciation now.

I enjoy landlording, I have a pretty good relationship with my tenants.

You need to figure out what works for you. There is no one-size-fits-all approach.

The rehab on my rental was WAY more work than managing the rental. I added value (profit if I were to resell - not total value added since materials would add more)to the property equivelant to about 2-3 years of rent profits in 2 short months of doing the rehab. So, dollar for dollar, it may be a tossup.

Originally posted by Mike M:

If you like to get your hands dirty, be involved with permits, contractors, inspectors, and such, then flipping might be up your alley. But if you like to go play golf, take cruise vacations, play with the kids and/or grand kids, maybe the long term rentals are more your speed.

You are comparing a "hands on" rehab/flipper to a "hands off landlord", I don' think that is a very reasonable comparison.

Using your example, there are plenty of landlords that self manage and do the labor themselves to save money...fixing toilets, handling ugly evictions etc...

Or you could be a "hands off rehab/flipper"...have an inspector check it out, have your contractor get it fixes up...buy fix and sell with never visiting the property...just making a couple phone calls and writing a few checks.

My point is that either can be ran in an active or passive way.

I agree with @Ryan Moses, the option that is the most profitable is the better decision. I would personally lean towards the monthly income especially if the property I owned has favorable financing options with a good tenant.

"Difficult" is going to depend on a lot of things -- your goals, your expertise, your experience, your support team, your approach, etc.

For some (like me), landlording is more difficult than flipping. In my situation, it's just based on the fact that I haven't done it very much, and those who have done it for years have much more experience and know what works and what doesn't work. When I deal with tenants, I'm just guessing the best way to handle situations. In 10 years, I'll probably have enough experience where I don't have to guess anymore.

When rehabbing, I have enough experience where I don't have to guess anymore (though I've done plenty of guessing over the years). But, new rehabbers do a lot of guesswork, and they probably find it very difficult (like I used to find it).

Your experience and expertise will dictate which is more difficult for you...