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:
How to Drive Up Market Rents for Your Properties
When you run the numbers for a prospective rental property and compare it to similar properties in the area you'll find opportunities. You may be able to improve your profit margin, either through charging higher rents or reducing ongoing costs for maintenance and...
How Is an Amortization Schedule Calculated? Loan Calculator with Amortization Schedule
Take one look at an amortization schedule and you discover that “simple interest amortization” is a misnomer. Still, it’s not rocket science either. An amortization table shows you how quickly you’ll pay down your loan balance over the course of your loan term. And...
Loans for Investment Property Rates: August 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...
What’s the Rule of 72 in Investing?
Compounding returns are critical to building wealth. For example, if you invested $250 a month in a mutual fund earning the average historical stock market return (around 10.5%), you’d be a millionaire in under 36 years. But not all of us sit around all day playing...
How Many Rental Properties Does It Take to Retire Early?
Rental properties are a great way to fund some or all of your retirement. They produce steady, predictable income without eating into your principal. And they have many tax advantages and other benefits for retirement. But before you embark on a multi-year real estate...
What Is Credit Repair & How Do You Do It?
Are credit score woes keeping you down? If you have a lower score, it could be stopping you from getting a loan or the rental unit you really want. And while it's possible to get an investment property loan with bad credit, it's much harder and costs you more. The...
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 50% 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...
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...
Financial Freedom Defined: 7 Steps to Financial Independence
Much has been written about the stages of financial independence (FI) in an effort to define financial freedom and the milestones along the way. These steps for financial freedom are easy to understand, if a bit harder to actually reach. The good news? It gets easier...
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. #105: Why Self-Storage Beats Residential Real Estate
Thought about self-storage as an alternative real estate investment? From high returns to recession-resistant assets, Deni & Brian break down why you should consider storage facilities over residental real estate investing.Video Broadcast VersionAudio Podcast...
Ep. #104: How Dandan Zhu Retired at 28 with Real Estate Investments
Dandan Zhu spent her 20s in the high-stress world of headhunting, then she bought her first rental property, and within 4 years quit her job.Video Broadcast VersionAudio Podcast Version Also available on iTunes, Stitcher, and wherever else you listen :-)Resources...
Ep. #103: How Tom Brickman Became a Millionaire on a $55K Salary
Tom Brickman had an amazing journey going from his day job at a movie theater to "retiring" in his 30s as a successful real estate investor. On a modest salary, he reached a million-dollar net worth at age 31. Here's exactly how he did it, and how you can do the...
Ep. #102: What To Do When A Tenant Leaves Junk Behind
Keeping renting out properties long enough and you'll encounter junk abandoned by your tenants. Deni and Brian break down what to do when you discover your renter moved out and left behind trash, furniture, and more.Video Broadcast VersionAudio Podcast Version Also...
Ep. #101: 10 Most & Least Desired Home Features of Renters & First-Time Buyers
What home amenities do renters and homebuyers want in 2022? Brian breaks down a study showcasing the Top 10 Most Desired Home Amenities, and the most undesired real estate amenities as well.Video Broadcast VersionAudio Podcast Version Also available on iTunes,...
Ep. #100: How to Invest If You Fear a Housing Market Correction
Worried about a housing market correction? You certainly aren't alone. With the words "recession" and "correction" on everyone's lips, here are some recession-proof ways to invest even if real estate markets dip in value in the near future.Video Broadcast VersionAudio...
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.
