Property taxes on a million dollar house is closer to 12k a year in CA. Well at least in Los Angeles it is.

You are referring to single family homes that pay their own water/trash. For apartments, the landlord pays for the water, trash, gas for the water heater, and electricity for the common area. Trash for a 4 unit, can be as high as $220, especially if there are overages.

Also, some cities make you pay a business license for rentals of a certain size. Also there is a health fee if you have a pool with a certain number of units.

I don't know if you realize this but landlords have to pay income tax on rental income...

In Los Angeles, especially, if you are a new landlord, just buying, you are barely breaking even.

If an eviction needs to happens, a landlord will prolly lose money.

Real estate investing isn't as lucrative as you're thinking.