I didn't get special incentives because I'm renting out my property, not in the sense you mentioned Buy to Let in the UK. Instead, I have a few additional tax breaks: instead of paying income tax on the rental income, I can offset it against the depreciation of the property (that will increase the spread between sale price and the price I paid, which will 'go down', so when I sell it I will report higher profit ); I can tax deduct the mortgage interest like any homeowner already can ; I can tax deduct house wide expenses such as heating and common utilities, including repairs to the rental unit (and even linens and furniture if I AirBnB it but that's a different tax schedule). I can declare loss when a unit is not rented. I used a special loan called an FHA loan which meant I needed less than 20% down payment, but I was punished with a high insurance from the bank. I recently refinanced out of that into a normal mortgage, because the value of my property went up and the 20% figure magically became true. And most of us here (unlike in the UK) have 30 year fixed-rate mortgages.

If I rented out my units and moved out, I'd make 2K a month over and above my mortgage payment and taxes. I regard the negativity towards housing above with a lot of amusement. I could withstand a housing crash, a job loss, and a lot more now. I am much more worried about a fire, or crime in my neighborhood, or construction next door.