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 landlord, 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
The Landlord’s Guide to Pet Deposits vs. Pet Rent vs. Pet Fees
I love animals. I have almost always had at least one pet in my home. Pets enrich our lives and provide unmatched companionship and unconditional love. Except for my cat, whose affection seems to depend on my filling his bowl—and, even then, often includes the use of...
Private Money vs. Hard Money Loan Requirements, Interest, Fees & More
What’s the difference between hard money and private money loans? What can you expect from private money and hard money loan requirements? Real estate investors sometimes throw these terms around interchangeably, but they actually have different meanings. Still, many...
How Much Can a Landlord Charge for Cleaning? Rules for Tenant Cleaning Fees
Rare is the departing tenant who leaves their unit in truly pristine condition. More often, the situation falls somewhere between “Fine” and “What happened?” — with the occasional “What the…?” thrown in for good measure. Even when the space is spic and span, it needs...
Umbrella Insurance for Rental Properties: What Landlords Need to Know
I have a theory that nobody likes insurance. Don’t get me wrong, it’s important and often required by law or by lenders. But insurance is just so psychologically unsatisfying. I don’t know anyone who’s really excited to get their sweet new coverage. At best it gives...
How to Become a Landlord: Blueprint to Buy Your First Rental Property
I love passive streams of income from real estate, and property appreciation for that matter. But before you learn how to become a landlord, you need to know exactly what you’re getting yourself into. Forget the cultural stereotypes about greedy, rich, lazy landlords....
How One Couple Retired Early with a Single Rental Property to Sail Europe
Martha and Terry live the dream. They currently live on a houseboat, sailing the rivers of Europe. From the canals of Amsterdam to beautiful Strasbourg, France, the retired couple has enjoyed waterfront living all over Europe. How did they do it? And how can you do...
What Is a Real Estate Syndication? How Passive Real Estate Investing Works
If you’ve never heard the term “real estate syndication,” you’re not alone. Most people haven’t, and even fewer know what a real estate syndication is or how they work. Historically, only the wealthy could access private equity investments like these. That has ...
6 Ways to Find Expired Real Estate Listings
In hot real estate markets, many properties listed for sale receive offers within hours or days of listing. When my wife and I were house hunting in 2022, we constantly watched for new listings on Zillow and scheduled tours as quickly as we could, only to see most of...
California Rent Control Laws (2023): State Rent Stabilization & Cities with Rent Control
Almost half of California's residents live in rentals. The cost of living, especially rental rates, has risen dramatically over the last two decades, creating some of the least affordable rental housing in the world in many California cities. California’s response?...
ROI on Real Estate: Historical Returns & Types of Returns on Property
When people ask me about the return on investment (ROI) for real estate, they often balk when I respond that I aim for 15–30% returns. But I’m getting ahead of myself. There are many ways to measure ROI on real estate investments. As an investor, you should...
How to Avoid Capital Gains Tax on Real Estate
When you sell a property for a profit, you owe capital gains taxes on it. Maybe. Sometimes. If you don't know how to avoid real estate capital taxes. Because real estate investments come with a slew of tax advantages. While you own the property as a rental, you can...
Creative Financing for Real Estate: 13 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...
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
Ep. #158: From Marine to Real Estate Millionaire: Greg Butcher’s Story
How do you go from military servicemember to millionaire real estate investor in a few short years? Greg Butcher explains exactly how he did it.Video Broadcast Version Audio Podcast Version Also available on iTunes, Stitcher, and wherever else you listen 🙂 Want to...
Ep. #157: Creative Real Estate Investing Tips with Chris Prefontaine
Want to earn high returns on real estate investments? Zig while other investors zag. Chris Prefontaine, AKA The Smart Real Estate Coach, offers some of his best actionable tips to creatively invest in real estate for lower risk and higher returns.Video Broadcast...
Ep. #156: Can You Automate Rental Property Accounting? Just Ask Logan Ransley
Logan Ransley explains how he built a mobile app and software platform specifically for mom-and-pop landlords, with all kinds of features to automate accounting, bookkeeping, tenant screening, and more. Video Broadcast Version Audio Podcast Version Also available on...
Ep. #155: What the Heck Is Private Equity in Real Estate Investing?
Heard the term "private equity" through around but don't know what it means? You're not alone. Most people don't understand private equity investing. Which is precisely why there's an opportunity there for people who do. Brian and Deni demystify private equity real...
Ep. #154: Airbnb Investing Tricks with “Living Off Rentals” Host Kirby Atwell
How do you build a short-term rental business? Kirby Atwell has built a multimillion dollar real estate empire the slow way, and shares his tips for earning more cash flow with Airbnb vacation rentals.Video Broadcast Version Audio Podcast Version Also available on...
Ep. #153: The “Silver Tsunami” Is Coming: Probate Investing with Sharon Vornholt
With baby boomers aging rapidly while holding a disproportionate amount of U.S. property, there's ample opportunity for real estate investors to score deals through probate investing. Sharon Vornholt began investing in 1998 and was originally a rehabber and a...
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.
