I think it's easy to understand that even though you enjoy responding to calls about fixing a leak at 10pm on a Tuesday that not everyone would. And for many it would be a significant drawback to owning property.
I've been thinking a lot about buy an investment property, but the mixed workload reviews makes me hesitant
My partner had been renting her house out for about 5 years with the usual annoyances, when the newest tenants left a cabinet on a cord that after a few months started an electrical fire that torched the place. No one was injured and it was (mostly) covered by insurance, but it was still 6+ months of dealing with all the claims and repairs and getting it back into shape. And to top it off, the tenants took her to small claims court for the security deposit! (They lost.)
Most people are afraid of rental properties because it's out of their comfort zone.
Working a W2 job, socking money away in a 401k, and retiring at 65 = normal, safe, responsible, respectable.
Working a W2 job, slowing accumulating rental properties, fixing a toilet once in a while, and retiring at 45 or younger = deviant, risky, naughty.
I haven't been to my property in 2 years(probably not the greatest idea though)
And forget about evicting an unwieldy tenant on any reasonable schedule in California. I have friends who’ve been foreclosed upon while trying to get unpaid tenants evicted.
If you’re willing to do this as a second job, go for it! Personally I would (with the benefit of hindsight) invest in a multi-unit income property or a vacation home with rental potential if I were going to buy investment properties, but that’s just me.