Introduction

My daughter is only seven years old, but I am planning for her future. I intend to invest wisely so that she will not have to worry about the cost of college. My aged parents might also need financial support from time to time.

My family has a history of investing in property in the UK. I own two rental properties in the US. Now I plan to buy more. In September, I shall buy $500k worth of property, or perhaps more if leveraging is an option.
My mother, who has owned and operated 20+ rental properties, always tells me, "Greedy people get robbed first." I have no desire to be rapacious. I am quite willing to buy five or six properties in cash, wait for the rental income to accrue, and buy more properties with said income.
I am exploring the option of leveraging. My credit is poor, notwithstanding September's windfall. Still, even in a worst-case scenario, I shall be purchasing and renting out five additional properties later this year.
I use a property management agency: I do not manage properties personally. The last time I did, I got burned so badly (no, not literally) that I decided to delegate the responsibility. I am far too trusting, you see. The new tenants ruined the carpet, illegally possessed firearms and narcotics on the premises, damaged the walls, tore a door off its hinges, took two months to be evicted, and ended up costing me thousand of dollars in repairs and legal fees. Despite a court judgment, they have yet to pay a penny. I realized then that I am a lousy judge of character when it comes to trusting people with my money or my properties. That is why I have chosen to use a property management agency. The company charges a reasonable fee; in return, I do not have to worry about tenants, carpets, dirty diapers, firearms, liars, cheats, etc.
So, there it is.