Buy and hold

Buying a rental property and keeping it for years, collecting rent and letting equity build. The long-game version of real estate investing.

Investment terms · Updated September 2026

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Part 1 of 4

Why a seller cares

A buy-and-hold investor plans to rent your home for years, so they price it on the rent it will earn, not on the comps a family would use. Their offer can be lower than a family's and close more reliably.

Part 2 of 4

A simple example

Your home would rent for $1,700. A buy-and-hold investor offers $210,000 where a family might pay $230,000, with no financing contingency.

Buy and hold: a simple example
The buyerHow they price your home
A buy-and-hold investorOn the rent, the expenses and the return they want
A familyOn the comps and how much they like it
Both at onceThe family usually pays more; the investor usually closes cleaner

Buy-and-hold buyers do arithmetic where families do feelings. The arithmetic is usually a lower number.

Part 3 of 4

What people get wrong

That an investor will match a family's price. Their number comes from the rent, and the rent does not care what the neighbors paid.

Part 4 of 4 · where to read next

Where it appears in the sale

What a definition is, and what it isn't

Keighbor is a software company, not a law firm, brokerage, or tax adviser. This is general information, not legal, tax, financial, or real estate advice about your sale. Your situation may differ. Before acting on a contract, disclosure, title, tax, or pricing question, ask an appropriately licensed professional in your state.

Written and researched by Keighbor Research · drawn from the reference glossary · how we research and check what we publish

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