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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:
8 (Awesome) Alternative Housing Ideas to Save Money & See the World
Feeling a little “blah” about the idea of a traditional apartment or a suburban house with a white picket fence? You’re not alone. From the rise of tiny homes to the spike in co-living spaces, people from all walks of life are rebelling against skyrocketing housing...
How to Build Credit Fast: The Real Estate Investor’s Guide to Credit
Size matters. At least where your credit score is concerned. Consider two would-be investors. Sandra has a high credit score, and qualifies for an 80% LTV loan at a 6% interest rate with two points. Billy has shoddy credit. The lender offers him only 65% LTV, at 10%...
How to Finance Rental Properties When You’re Self-Employed
Yes, getting a mortgage for a rental property can be tricky for the self-employed. But as a self-employed entrepreneur, you do harder things every day. If you want passive income and financial freedom sooner rather than later, leveraging other people's money is the...
How to Negotiate Real Estate Deals: The Investor’s Go-To Guide
In a scorching real estate market with sky-high property prices, how can you compete against other investors? Just landing any acceptable rental property can seem impossible, let alone scoring a stellar deal. But you can propel yourself to the top of a long line of...
How One Couple Moved Abroad & Retired by 30 with Rentals
I met Ashley Thompson in a Facebook group of Mustachians. No, she doesn’t have a mustache. She, like tens of thousands of people around the world, has embraced the financial discipline and minimalism preached by Mr. Money Mustache. (His blog remains one of the best...
Apartment Applications vs. House Rental Applications: What Landlords Need to Know
Whether you’re a burgeoning property magnate with a string of properties or just starting as a landlord, tenant screening remains the most important task you can do as a landlord. To protect your investment and your passive income, you must have a completed rental...
12 Lessons About Money from Game of Thrones
(Spoilers below, beware!) Property law hasn’t changed that much since the days of Medieval England, and the laws of supply and demand remain constants of capitalist economies. Sure, the details of real estate zoning and inheritance/estate law can shift, but the...
Getting a Loan for a Rental Property: Mortgage Rates & Financing Options
Your eyes alight on the perfect rental property for sale. It’s in a hot rental location, good condition and at a bargain price. Desperate to snap up this dream unit for your portfolio, you rush online to check current rental property mortgage rates. Only to be totally...
The Best Cities for Real Estate Investing in 2019, Based on Rental Cap Rates
Ever get sick of hearing people glibly spout “Location, location, location!”, whenever real estate comes up in a conversation? Yet most real estate investors never look much further beyond their own backyard, when deciding where to invest. Which is why we wanted to...
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Who Is This 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.
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 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 our unique RentDeduct – we pull the rent directly from your tenant’s paycheck! RentDeduct fees can be charged directly to the tenant.
Want more free landlord resources? Check out our list of Free Landlord Tools.
Spark Rental Blog Guest Post Policy
This is our skeptical face. Persuade us you’re not another hack!
Yes, we do allow guest blog posts occasionally.
No, we don’t accept crappy posts from bad writers or people who aren’t real estate investing experts, landlords, or rental industry experts.
If you’re an outstanding writer, with something unique to write about, and you’re a rock star real estate investor, landlord, property manager, housing industry analyst, or FIRE and personal finance expert, we can talk. But I’ll warn you right now, we have extremely high standards, and we will probably send you a detailed set of instructions to follow.
We also only accept in-depth articles of 1,500-2,000+ words.
Still interested in contributing to our real estate investing blog?
Contact us using the form below, to pitch a few unique and relevant blog post ideas.
