As a source of passive income, it never dries up or matures, but instead provides ongoing income with no loss of assets. In fact, the underlying asset appreciates over time, even as you pay down the mortgage against it. That makes real estate investment an excellent source of retirement income. It diversifies your asset allocation and protects against sequence of returns risk because you don’t need to sell any assets to produce the income.

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Then, there are the tax benefits. Investors can deduct for every conceivable expense, from mortgage interest to maintenance costs to property management fees. They can even deduct some paper expenses that they never actually incurred, such as depreciation.

But for all those advantages, it also comes with its share of downsides and risks. Each property requires a high cash investment in the form of a down payment and closing costs. Real estate is notoriously illiquid, making it expensive and slow to sell. It also requires both skill and work to invest in, unlike stocks, which you can buy instantly through an index fund with no specialized knowledge.

Still, the knowledge and skill that you need to buy your first property isn’t rocket science. Anyone can learn how to invest in real estate.

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Here are seven tips to follow when buying your first investment property to avoid pitfalls

and earn a strong profit from the outset.