Retire Early with Rental Properties
Who says you need to work until you’re 65?
A Landlord Blog for the Passive Income Obsessed
Know the acronym “FIRE,” in personal finance circles?
It stands for Financial Independence/Retire Early.
Financial independence means that income from your investments (like, oh, I don’t know, rental properties) is enough to cover your living expenses. In other words, you’re no longer “dependent” on your job to pay your bills.
My name is Brian Davis, and I’m a landlord, real estate investor, personal finance writer, co-founder of SparkRental, and world traveler. I get to spend most of the year living abroad, largely because my rental income allows me to live anywhere.
Deni (my partner) and I have a simple goal: to help 5,000 people reach $5,000/month in passive income from rental properties. Actually our goal is to help as many people as possible reach financial independence from rental income, but that doesn’t have the same ring to it 😉
Want to retire early with rental properties? Stack up streams of passive income? Reach financial independence?
We created this landlord blog to help you do just that. Being a landlord is great, but ultimately rental properties are a means to a greater end: giving you the freedom to lead whatever life you want.
The Latest from the Landlord & Real Estate Investing Blog:
17 Clever Ways to Come Up with a Down Payment for a Rental Property
For most real estate investors, coming up with the next down payment for a rental property is the greatest barrier to buying. Nowhere is the adage “It takes money to make money” more obvious than in real estate investing! In fact, when we’ve polled in our Landlords...
How Recession-Proof Are Rental Properties?
Rental properties offer better protection against recessions than most investments. But that doesn’t make them completely recession-proof. As you look for ways to protect your portfolio from future recessions, here’s how rental properties have stacked up in past...
Should You Sell a Property with Tenants Living in It?
There are no federal, state, or local regulations that prevent the owner of a rental property from selling it while renters live on the premises. However, it can present some challenges. Sellers should plan carefully before listing tenant-occupied properties on the...
Creative Financing for Real Estate: 12 Ideas for Your Next Investment Property
With inflation soaring at levels not seen since 1981, everyone wants to invest in assets that protect against inflation. Assets like, say, real estate. But real estate is expensive, costing hundreds of thousands for a single rental property. You can take out an...
Heat Map: The Hottest Real Estate Markets in 2022
The coronavirus pandemic saw many real estate markets leap upward. Some saw home prices jump over 40% in a single year! Pick your reason as to why. People spending more time at home are focused more on their home, and usually wish they had more space. Many homeowners...
Loans for Investment Property Rates: May 2022 Loan Terms & Types
Image Credit: Trading Academy, CC BY-NC-ND) Wondering what interest rates you can expect to pay on loans for investment properties? It depends on your credit score of course, and on your other risk factors as a borrower. But it also largely depends on what type of...
Concreit Review: Short-Term Fractional Real Estate Investing
Ever wish you could invest in real estate without committing money for years at a time? If so, newcomer Concreit is for you. Unlike most real estate crowdfunding platforms, Concreit lets you pull out your money at virtually any time. And no, they don’t ding your...
Financial Independence from Flipping Houses: How John Maxim Did It
From wholesaling to property management, vacation rentals, house flipping, mortgage lending, commercial real estate to residential, John Maxim has done it all. He has founded multiple seven-figure businesses including Tree Fort Realty, Rhino Property Management, Savvy...
How to Invest $1,000 in Real Estate
At the risk of stating the obvious, real estate costs a lot. That makes it expensive to invest in, and difficult to diversify among real estate investments. The median home price in the US is around $350,000, so an investor who buys a median property with a 20% down...
What do you want to learn more about?
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 for years, although they only 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, Stitcher, or wherever else you listen!
Recent Episodes
Ep. #94 4 Ways to Speed Up the Eviction Process
Have deadbeat tenants that refuse to pay rent or keep breaking your lease and making life difficult for your other renters? Deni & Brian walk through four ways to speed up the eviction process... plus three bonus tips for removing bad tenants.Video Broadcast...
Ep. #93 John Maxim on Reaching Financial Independence by 40 with Real Estate
John Maxim is 44 and has been financially independent for years. How'd he do it? Through a mix of house hacking, rental properties, and flipping houses with no money down. John joins Deni & Brian to talk about exactly how he did it, the mistakes he made along the...
Ep. #92 No Lease, Free Lease, or State-Specific Lease – What’s Really the Difference?
How well does your lease agreement protect you against liability? How well does it protect your property from the most common damage risks, such as scratched floors and artwork holes in the walls? Deni and Brian break down what good leases protect landlords from, and...
Ep. #91 Typical Rent Increases vs Inflation: How Much to Hike
With inflation so hot right now, should landlords raise their rents faster than usual? Deni and Brian walk through what you need to know about raising rents during high inflation.Video Broadcast VersionAudio Podcast Version Also available on iTunes, Stitcher, and...
Ep. #90 How Greg & Erin Retired Young with Rental Properties
Ever dreamed of retiring in your 30s or 40s? Greg and Erin Wilson did that. And yes, they have three young children. Deni and Brian chat up the Wilsons about exactly how they reached financial independence and retired young - and how anyone can do the exact same...
Ep. #87 Buying & Renovating Mobile Homes with Adrian Smude
Ever considered buying land with a mobile home on it? That's Adrian Smude's investing model, and it generates high returns with low costs. Here's how he invests, and how you can follow suit.Video Broadcast VersionAudio Podcast Version Also available on iTunes,...
Who Is the Rental Income Blog For?
Well, sure, this is a real estate investing and landlord blog. We write about the nuts and bolts of investing in rental properties, tenant screening, leasing issues, collecting rent, managing difficult tenants, and so on.
But while the “how-tos” and “avoid these mistakes” are important, they’re only part of the picture.
The bigger picture? How rental properties and real estate investing fit into your larger strategy for building wealth and passive income.
Specifically: reaching financial independence to give you the freedom to retire young, if you so choose.
So who is this “landlord blog” for? It’s not just for landlords – it’s for anyone looking for creative ways to reach FIRE through real estate investing.
Real Estate Investing & Landlord Education
Our real estate investing blog includes hundreds of landlord 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 landlords and real estate investors. We offer several premium landlord courses. 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’re going 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 landlord education at SparkRental. We want you to make as much passive income as possible, as fast as possible, on the fewest rental investments possible.
Beyond the Real Estate Blog: More Landlord Resources
Had enough of us going on about the importance of landlord education?
“Cut to the goods already Brian! Gimme some free stuff!”
All right, all right. Here are some free landlord resources, to help you on your quest for financial independence from real estate:
Free Rental Application
Email our free rental application PDF to your prospects; they can type into it, e-sign it, and email it back to you. It even includes authorization for you to contact employers, prior landlords, and run tenant screening reports.
Tenant Screening Reports
Well, it’s free for the landlord. The applicant verifies their identity and releases their credit report, criminal background check, and eviction history tenant screening reports to you. No site inspection required!
State-Specific Lease Agreements
Our rental lease agreements are extremely landlord-protective, and deter any lawsuit-happy tenants. They’re editable, reusable, and include all state-specific lease clauses, disclosures, and addenda.
Free Rent Collection
Collect rent online, through either ACH (bank transfer), credit card, or debit card. Reduce late payments and rent defaults, and use one-click Schedule E tax statements and Income & Expense reports!
Want more free landlord resources? Check out our list of Free Landlord Tools.
