Even in the best of cases, landowners may not be generating a direct profit but are generating equity in the home.

I had to explain this to one of my landlords (he was a first time landlord and it was his old place) once a long time ago. He was quite shocked that he wasn't making nearly as much money as expected when the homestead exemption was lifted from the home. He tried to increase our rent well above the average for the area because of it and we had to threaten to walk.