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
Ark7 Review: Fractional Shares of Rental Properties with Full Liquidity?
If you’ve been looking for a way to buy shares in single-family rentals, Ark7 offers a great option with low investment minimums. A relative newcomer, Ark7 blends the fractional property ownership of Arrived with the liquidity and secondary market of Lofty. In fact,...
How to Buy a Fixer-Upper Without Getting Burned
When you buy a fixer-upper property, you can create instant equity by renovating it. That lets you either sell it for a profit (flipping) or refinance and keep it as a cash-flowing rental property (the BRRRR method). It sounds great on paper, but fixer-uppers don’t...
Non-Qualifying Mortgages: Uses & List of Non-QM Lenders
Traditional mortgage loans work great for those living a traditional lifestyle: working a job with a steady income and looking to buy a home to live in. But real estate investors — and many others, such as self-employed entrepreneurs and gig workers — may sometimes...
How Private Equity Real Estate Investing Works
Heard the term "private equity real estate investing" thrown around, but not sure how it works? Don’t sweat it — private equity might sound intimidating, but it’s actually pretty simple. In fact, it’s a lot easier to invest in real estate private equity than it is to...
Interest Rates on Loans for Investment Properties: June 2023 Rates
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 investment property loan you borrow. Here are...
Driving for Dollars: How to Find Off-Market Properties
When Deni and I poll new real estate investors about their greatest challenges, two answers pop up again and again: coming up with a down payment and finding good deals on real estate. So we talk about those two challenges a lot. And while “driving for dollars” has...
8 Ways Technology Is Disrupting Real Estate Investing
Forget those ads you see on YouTube or TikTok with some tech bro promoting a shady new platform or program to “corner the real estate market.” Suppress the gag reflex and stay with me. Online scammers aside, have you noticed how a handful of technological advancements...
How to Buy a Foreclosure Home: Pros, Cons, & Process from Start to Finish
Heard that you can score a great deal when you buy a foreclosure home? Buying foreclosed homes soared in popularity during the Great Recession as a wave of foreclosures hit the market and drove down prices nationwide. While foreclosure rates since then have fallen,...
Appraised Value Versus Market Value: How Appraisals Work
In the world of real estate, appraisals play a crucial role in due diligence for property buyers and lenders alike for every real estate transaction. During an appraisal, a licensed professional appraiser visits and assesses the overall value of a property based on...
What Are REO’s? How John Retired Early with Bank-Owned Properties
If you've ever wondered "What are REO's?" just talk to John Soforic. He reached financial independence in his 40s after learning how to buy bank-owned properties, and today owns over a hundred of them. But he certainly didn't start out that way. At 30, John Soforic...
5 Steps to Become a Millionaire from Real Estate in 5 Years
Dream of becoming a millionaire from real estate? The good news is that the strategy to become a millionaire in real estate is actually pretty simple. The bad news: simple doesn’t mean easy. It still requires plenty of work and money invested to get there —...
Minimum Down Payment for an Investment Property: 9 Ways to Invest with Less
Real estate investment properties offer passive income, appreciation, landlord tax deductions, and diversification for your investment portfolio. So why doesn’t everyone become a landlord? Yes, it takes skill to find good deals on properties, and some labor to manage...
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. #145: Do Public REITs Offer Any Diversification from Stocks?
Publicly traded real estate investment trusts (REITs) move with an uncomfortably close correlation to the broader stock market. That means they offer little diversification value, even if public REITs do come with other benefits (such as high dividend yields). So how...
Ep. #144: How Dustin Heiner Retired at 37 on Rental Income
After getting fired from his job, Dustin Heiner decided he didn't want to be dependent on employers any longer than necessary. So he ramped up his real estate investing and retired at 37 years old. Here's how he did it. Video Broadcast VersionAudio Podcast Version...
Ep. #143: Buy A Property for 0% Down with the NACA Program
Looking for a mortgage with no down payment, low closing costs, no PMI, and below-market interest rates? That doesn't take your credit score into account? Brian and Deni explain exactly how the NACA mortgage program works, and how to use it to house hack and buy your...
Ep. #142: From House Hacking to Millionaire with Matt Faircloth of the DeRosa Group
Matt Faircloth started his real estate investing journey by house hacking one townhome and today has built a portfolio of over 1,000 units. He's the founder of the DeRosa Group, a regular contributor on BiggerPockets, and a ton of fun to listen to. Enjoy!Video...
Ep. #141: Groundfloor: Consistent 10% Returns on Passive Investments?
Our cofounder Brian Davis interviews Groundfloor's cofounder Brian Dally about passive real estate investing, steady returns, and how creative technology is changing the real estate investing industry for the better.Video Broadcast VersionAudio Podcast Version Also...
Ep. #140: 3 Step Strategy to Convince a Skeptical Spouse to Invest in Real Estate Syndications
Deni and Brian offer tips on how to approach a skeptical spouse about investing in real estate.Video Broadcast VersionAudio Podcast Version Also available on iTunes, Stitcher, and wherever else you listen :-)Resources Mentioned in This Podcast & Video:Want to...
Who Is the Passive Investing 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.
Online 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.
