JuSun Buying rental properties a common way to invest in real estate, and one way that many mom and pop investors use to measure investment returns from real property is to take the annual rental amount divided by the purchase price. While this ratio may be higher than the dividend yield of some REITs, it's worth considering that this is before all costs such as property taxes, maintenance, insurance, and mortgage interest is deducted. Moreover, with a traditional mortgage, principal payments must be made o ...