Say your bank allows 3:1 leverage then $600K will get you 1.8 million for 2.4 million total to spend. In some places that's enough to get an 'octoplex', 8 flats in one building. Each of those can be let at $1000 -> 12K * 8 -> 96K. Now you need to pay interest, the current rates are 1.7% or so, say 30K annually, or about 1/3rd of your total income on the property.
Of course there is still the maintenance, the cost for managing the property, the inevitable non-paying renters and evictions as well as flats that are empty between tenants. But that's more or less the basics of it.
Depending on local conditions this scheme may be more or less profitable. The things to watch out for in a scheme like this is rising interest rates which will likely kill the market so you would not be able to sell. If you want to nail down the interest rate over a longer term then you'd have to expect a higher interest rate.
And we rarely sell, instead we retain cash flow. We will "flip" a Single Family door via 1031 (US Tax Code) into our next 5-8 doors (after owning it for 4 or so years). But we expect to hold onto the other building, and those we acquire as we go, as this again is a subscription model - Cash flow.
"The market" (i.e. real estate appreciation) does not affect us so much over time, only when we do buy/sell.
And right now, US rates are again low...
Buying right is a large caveat - There are many bad deals out there, but still some good ones. Timing can be a large part of it, so patience is required. We will be independently wealthy in roughly 7 more years, if we can continue to get the timing right.
So I posted a representative of our plan, we are working that plan.
ymmv :)
I wish I had studied wealth-building sooner, instead of having my roaring twenties, I would have been aware of the choice to be done accumulating by 35 (independently wealthy) and able to focus even more time on the volunteering, mentoring, and tinkering I do now.
It is possible, but it requires discipline, something I continue to work at.
The last has given me the most help and is the reason we have had the success we have so far experienced; Ironically, it tends to get down-voted with a quickness on HN. The principal (Kiyosaki) is quite controversial, maybe due to his anti-establishment method. That and possibly his crude language/delivery. He also has stretched the truth about his own experiences, another negative. But the basic knowledge is the same that has worked for Real Estate for many, many decades (more?).
The leverage is the same used in the USA for home mortgages - We put down 25% and the bank lends 75%. If you can take advantage of assistance programs (i.e. First Time Buyer, Military GI Loan, etc.) you may find even better terms for non-commercial residential (less than 5 doors).
Some of my mentors have recommended buying a duplex or triplex to get started, and living in one of the units. It can mess with the tax advantages, so work carefully with a CPA, but it can almost seem that financially, the tenants are paying your mortgage and basically buying the property for you.
I prefer always using a Property Manager - Less profit, but also no calls at 2:00am about plumbing issues, lost keys, etc.