Build Passive Income with Real Estate
Who says you need to work until you’re 65?
A Passive Income Blog for the Obsessed
Want to work forever?
We certainly don’t. Which is why we’re so obsessed with passive income. And while we love stocks, our true passion is passive real estate investing.
My name is Brian Davis, and I’m a passive real estate investor, personal finance writer, co-founder of SparkRental, and world traveler. I get to spend most of the year living abroad hiking, scuba diving, wine tasting, and breaking toes trying to learn how to surf.
Deni (my partner) and I have a simple goal: to help 5,000 people reach $5,000/month in passive real estate income. Want to be one of them? To start stacking up streams of passive income? To reach financial independence and retire early with rental properties or real estate syndications?
We created this real estate investing blog to help you stop relying so heavily on your 9-5 salary and start living more intentionally. Welcome!
The Latest from Our Real Estate Investing Blog
Eviction Process: How to Evict a Tenant (Infographic)
The Big Picture On The Eviction Process: Despite running a tight ship, landlords will eventually have to deal with eviction. Documentation is crucial when enacting the eviction process, as it helps the landlord's case in the long run. Landlords should always stay on...
How to Buy a Fixer-Upper Without Getting Burned
The Big Picture On How To Buy A Fixer-Upper Fixer-uppers are properties that need a little TLC before being ready for occupancy or sale. Buying fixer-uppers presents investors with several notable advantages, like the potential of a massive payday. However, the...
Housing Market Corrections: How to Invest Throughout the Real Estate Cycle
The Big Picture On The Real Estate Cycle: Understanding the real estate market cycle is an important guide for informed investment decisions. Investors should focus on generating positive cash flow during recessions or uncertainties as a safer strategy, rather than...
How to Get Investment Property Loans with Bad Credit
The Big Picture On How To Get Investment Property Loans With Bad Credit: Despite bad credit, people interested in getting investment property loans have several options available to them. Options to get investment property loans even with bad credit scores range from...
The BRRRR Method in Real Estate: Invest with No Money (Infographic)
The Big Picture On The BRRRR Method: The BRRRR method (buy, rehab, rent, refinance, repeat) is an effective strategy used for building real estate portfolio rapidly. Like with anything, the BRRRR method comes with its own set of risks and advantages. That said, there...
How to Find Properties Before They Hit the Market
The Big Picture On How To Find Properties Before They Hit The Market: Finding properties before they get listed on MLS can significantly benefit real estate investors. These properties are often cheaper, and the owners are more open to negotiation. Real estate...
How Much Money Do You Need to Retire Early in 2024 (and How Real Estate Changes the Math)
The Big Picture On How Much You Need To Retire Early: Retiring early is difficult, but very possible. It takes knowledge and discipline to achieve. There are several strategies that you can use to figure out how much money you need to retire early. These depend on...
Where’s the Cheapest Real Estate in the U.S.? Should You Buy It?
The Big Picture On The Cheapest Real Estate In The United States: West Virginia tops the list of where the cheapest real estate in the US can be found. Real estate investors have a lot of reasons why they should consider investing in cheap real estate, like getting...
Fair Housing Lawsuits on the Rise Nationwide
The Big Picture On Fair Housing Lawsuits: There's a notable increase in fair housing lawsuits across the nation, reflecting heightened vigilance and readiness to challenge discriminatory practices within the housing sector through legal avenues. Recent legislative...
Understanding CapEx For Landlords – “It’s Not Rocket Surgery”
The Big Picture On CapEx For Landlords: Capital expenditures are significant investments for maintaining and improving your rental property's long-term value. Disregarding capex in your forecasting and budgeting can lead to some very ugly consequences, the chief of...
How Much Can Landlords Charge for Rental Application Fees in Each State?
The Big Picture On How Much To Charge For Rental Application Fees For Each State: Different states have different laws regarding rental application fee limits. Some states do not have limits, while others, like New York and California, have stated limits and other...
Should Landlords Rent to College Students? Student Housing 101
The Big Picture On Should You Rent To College Students: Renting properties to college students near universities is an attractive real estate investment. Advantages of renting to college students include higher potential income, higher occupancy rates, co-signer...
The “Live Off Rents” Podcast
Prefer to watch or listen to your real estate investing and FIRE tips & tricks? No sweat.
Deni and Brian have been broadcasting live every week to the SparkRental-sponsored Facebook groups since 2017, and started releasing the content via podcast in 2020. Each episode is quick, 15-20 minutes, but jam-packed with actionable content.
No fluff, just advice you can put to work immediately to build passive income from real estate.
If you enjoy the episodes, share them, and please rate and review on iTunes or wherever else you listen!
Recent Episodes
Who Is this Real Estate Investing Blog For?
Well, sure, it’s for aspiring and active investors and landlords. We write about the nuts and bolts of investing passively in real estate syndications or actively in rental properties. We cover topics ranging from real estate crowdfunding to tax benefits, tenant screening to collecting rents, single-family to multifamily to self-storage and beyond.
But while the “how-tos” and “avoid these mistakes” are important, they’re only part of the picture.
The bigger picture? How real estate investing fits into your larger strategy for building wealth and passive income.
Specifically: reaching financial independence to give you the freedom to retire early, if you so choose. Or to supplement your current lifestyle so you can live better or switch to your dream work.
So who is this “real estate investing blog” for? It’s not just for passive real estate investors or active landlords — it’s for anyone looking for creative ways to reach FIRE through real estate investing.
Beyond Education: Group Real Estate Investments Club
Learning is wonderful, and we offer nearly endless free education content for real estate investors and landlords. But nothing beats getting in the trenches and actually investing to earn real returns.
At your request, we created a real estate investment club that lets you “earn while you learn” with a club full of other investors. Every month, we propose a new passive real estate investment. These group real estate investments — also known as real estate syndications — let you buy fractional ownership in an apartment complex, self-storage facility, retail or other large property. You get all the benefits of real estate investing, from cash flow to appreciation to tax benefits, without the headaches of buying properties yourself.
Best of all, you can invest with a lot less money. Rather than the $50-100K needed for a typical real estate syndication or rental property down payment, you can invest with $5,000 per deal.
Oh, and non-accredited investors are welcome on all deals. We intentionally propose inclusive deals open to all investors.
Real Estate Investing & Landlord Education
Our real estate investing blog includes hundreds of articles personal finance articles, property management tips, and detailed real estate investing advice. Browse it, search it, use it as a free resource.
But our landlord education doesn’t end with the blog.
We offer a range of free webinars and online masterclasses for real estate investors. We offer a premium course called FIRE from Real Estate, to help you reach financial independence and retire early in years rather than decades. Our weekly newsletter keeps you abreast of rental industry trends, landlord tips, and the best of real estate investing blogs from around the web. And every week, Deni & Brian hop on live video on Facebook for a 15-minute live vlog and answer questions.
What for? Why do real estate investors and landlords need continuing education, anyway?
Because investing in rental properties is not like throwing money in an index fund.
Buying real estate investment properties takes skill (at least if you want to make money). Managing rental properties takes skill.
Your returns on rental investment properties are directly proportionate to your knowledge and skill, both as an investor and as a landlord. If you want to reach financial independence from real estate, you’re going to need to know what you’re doing.
That’s why we’re obsessed with ongoing real estate education at SparkRental. We want you to make as much passive income as possible, as fast as possible, on the fewest real estate investments possible.
Beyond the Real Estate Blog: More Resources for Investors
Had enough of us going on about the importance of real estate investing education?
“Cut to the goods already Brian! Gimme some free stuff!”
All right, all right. Here are some free real estate investing resources, to help you on your quest for financial independence from real estate:
Real Estate Investing Calculators
Real estate investing involves math. But it doesn’t have to be hard math. Use our free rental income calculator, house hacking calculator, property depreciation calculator and more to get ahead in the game of life.
Interactive Real Estate Maps
It’s a big country, with thousands of towns you could invest in. Where should you invest? Why? Check out our interactive maps of the hottest housing markets, cooling real estate markets, best cities for real estate investing by price/rent ratio, and more.
Real Estate Crowdfunding Comparison
Wondered whether real estate crowdfunding investments are worth considering? The answer: some are, others aren’t. But which are worth it? Check out our comparison of real estate crowdfunding platforms — and which we invest in ourselves.
Landlord Software & Mobile App
Use our free landlord software to screen tenants, collect rent online, and automate your rental accounting. Sync your bank account, automatically label income and expenses, and use one-click Schedule E tax statements.
Want more free landlord resources? Check out our list of Free Real Estate Investing Tools.
