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A Landlord Blog for the Passive Income Obsessed
Know the acronym âFIRE,â in personal finance circles?
It stands for Financial Independence/Retire Early.
Financial independence means that income from your investments (like, oh, I donât know, rental properties) is enough to cover your living expenses. In other words, youâre no longer âdependentâ on your job to pay your bills.
My name is Brian Davis, and Iâm 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 doesnât have the same ring to it đ
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:
Who Pays Which Closing Costs on Real Estate?
Closing costs add up quickly, for both the buyer and the seller. To put it simply, closing costs include all those extra fees and taxes in a property transaction. They usually range from three to five percent of the sales price of the property for the buyer, and even...
What Is a Wrap Around Mortgage & How Does It Help Investors?
Sometimes real estate investors need to get creative with financing ideas. A wrap around mortgage â also known as a wrap loan, overriding mortgage, carry-back, all-inclusive mortgage, or simply conjoining the words to wraparound mortgage â is (usually) a form of...
How to Become a Property Manager: And How It Makes You a Better Investor
Think property managers just cash rent checks and periodically yell at wayward tenants? In reality, property managers oversee the entire leasing cycle from advertising vacant units to screening rental applications to managing repairs to filing for eviction. If you...
State Taxes Comparison: Are Americans Fleeing High-Tax States in 2021?
It turns out Americans really do vote with their feet â especially when it comes to state tax rates. United Van Lines releases a report every year on the prior yearâs migration patterns within the U.S. In January 2021, they issued their 2020 report, and the data is...
Heat Map: The Hottest Real Estate Markets in 2021
The coronavirus pandemic saw many real estate markets leap upward. Some saw home prices jump over 15% 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...
Emotional Support Animals & The Fair Housing Act – What Landlords Need to Know
Pets cause more wear and tear on your property. They can be loud, messy, and add friction with the neighbors. As a landlord you have the right to allow or prohibit pets in your rental units. Normally, it constitutes a business decision: do the pros of accepting pets...
Should You Become a Section 8 Landlord? The Good, The Bad, & The Truth (Infographic)
Heard tales of guaranteed rent payments, courtesy of Section 8? Deposited by the government, and paying higher-than-market rents? If these stories perked up your ears, youâre not alone. Section 8 landlords can make good money, with a lower risk of rent defaults â at...
Lifestyle Design: Intentional Living to Create Your Perfect Life
Are you living your dream life? Are you living out the goals youâve set for yourself? Genuinely happy with the way that your life has panned out? If so, please write a bestselling book so we can all learn how you did it! If not, you are not alone. We all have goals,...
Should Landlords Rent to College Students? Student Housing 101
One of the most common questions among real estate investors is âWhere should I buy rental properties?â They typically mean the context of finding neighborhoods and the best cities for real estate investing. But before asking where, it often helps to decide who you...
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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.32 – The Formula to Retire Young w/Chris Mamula of Can I Retire Yet?
No one says you have to wait until 65 to retire. Brian hosts special guest Chris Mamula from Can I Retire Yet? to talk about all things financial independence and retiring early (FIRE). Check it out their personal experiences and tip on F.I.R.E! Video Broadcast...
Ep.31 – 5 Ways To Build Credit
Your credit can literally make or break your livelihood as a real estate investor. It means the difference between 70% LTV and 85% LTV, between 5% interest and 9% interest. Deni & Brian review how you can boost your credit as a real estate investor, and how to use...
Ep.30 – Using Unsecured Business Lines of Credit to Purchase Real Estate
There is a way to use credit lines to purchase real estate and in some cases with -0- interest! On this Episode, special edition, Deni and Brian introduce a really special webinar. Partnership: Fund and Grow Video Broadcast VersionAudio Podcast Version Also available...
Ep.29 – 8 Doâs and Donâts of Dealing with Contractors
How can real estate investors manage contractors without being ripped off Deni & Brian chat about how investors can protect themselves when working with contractors. About screening contractors and then choosing the one who is probably going to do a better job...
Ep. 28 – 4 Little-Known Lease Clauses to Protect You & Your Property
Your lease contract is one of your greatest defenses against losses from unpaid rent, property damage, and more. Just make sure that you do everything you can to protect yourself and your property. Deni & Brian chat about 4 little-known clauses to provide stronger...
Ep. 27 – Top 10 Cities in the US for Rental Investing
Looking for more profitable markets to invest in? Try these top 10 cities in the US by gross rent multiplier (GRM), after SparkRental analyzed the top 100 cities in the country based on data from Zillow. It's a short episode that explains the numbers and statitics...
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 âhow-tosâ and âavoid these mistakesâ are important, theyâre 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 âlandlord blogâ for? Itâs not just for landlords â itâs 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 doesnât 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 youâre 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, youâre going to need to know what youâre doing.
Thatâs why weâre 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?
âCut to the goods already Brian! Gimme some free stuff!â
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, itâs 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. Theyâre 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.
Spark Rental Blog Guest Post Policy
This is our skeptical face. Persuade us you’re not another hack!
Let me be crystal clear about our guest article policy. We almost never accept them, and when we do, it’s from websites that meet the following criteria:
- Domain score of 60 or higher, per Neil Patel’s Ubersuggest tool.
- Extremely relevant to SparkRental’s mission. In other words, a focus on real estate investing, passive income, financial independence/retiring early (FIRE), property management, and personal finance.
- In-depth articles on unique topics not found elsewhere online.
- Exceptionally strong writing. Fully 99% of the writing I read on the web is crap and doesn’t meet our standards.
Meet all of those criteria, and still interested in contributing to our real estate investing blog?
Contact Brian using the form below, to pitch a few unique and relevant blog post ideas.
