is buying REIT equivalent to being a landlord but without the hassle?

I'm a newbie to investing. I got some cash that I can use to purchase a house, and maybe rent out later. My folks purchased a few homes in the early 2010s and it tripled their net worth. They collect a lot of rent per month but also have expenses like property tax, HOA fees, repairs, etc. They also have to deal with lost income from vacancies, bad tenants, etc… Basically, they told me it's a lot of work and the return on money (aside from appreciation) is not that high.

I also like to have some passive income on the side, but I'm a lot more lazy than them. Moreover, I might be living abroad for a significant amount of time so I won't have the time to manage any properties. So with that said, is REIT a good fit for me? I really don't know much about it. Please enlighten me.

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Thanks